UN Blue: An Examination of the Interdependence Between UN Peacekeeping and Peacemaking‪.‬

Introduction A critical and insistent theme for the analyst of United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking is that of success and failure. Why else bother reviewing and evaluating if the ultimate objective is not to ascertain how to make these ventures succeed? Certainly, this must be the case for the practitioner analyst. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) when designing an operation, aims for a concept that will bring about success; the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) when strategizing with a mediator has the same goal. When I make presentations on UN peacekeeping, students consistently ask me to relate the success stories (if indeed I believe there are any). However, judging success or failure--conventionally considered mutually exclusive--is a tricky business.