Evolution and Challenges

The document analyzes the transition from traditional peacekeeping to multifunctional peace support operations (MPSOs) in the post-Cold War era. It highlights the confusion between peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and enforcement, and argues that the failure of many 1990s missions stemmed from a lack of clear authority, poor civil-military coordination, and the application of 'old scripts' to complex intra-state conflicts. The authors propose a reversal of operational tasking—starting with peace enforcement to establish a secure environment before transitioning to peacekeeping—and emphasize the need for specialized training and robust information gathering.

• The authors argue that the distinction between peacekeeping, peacemaking, peacebuilding, and peace enforcement is often artificial, as most operations are inherently 'multifunctional' and combine these tasks based on the political context.
• A critical failure in many 1990s missions, such as those in Somalia and the former Yugoslavia, was the inability to establish a secure environment and political authority over warring factions upon deployment.
• The document identifies a significant lack of coordination between military, civilian, and humanitarian components in MPSOs, noting that in Somalia, only 16% of surveyed personnel considered civil-military interactions to be good or adequate.
• The authors propose a strategic reversal of tasking: starting missions with peace enforcement to create a secure environment and then lowering the threshold to peacekeeping as stability is achieved, rather than escalating from low-visibility peacekeeping to enforcement.
• Traditional peacekeeping principles—consent, impartiality, and self-defence—are often problematic in intra-state conflicts where consent is frequently 'provisional', 'decaying', or 'grudging'.
• There is a systemic deficiency in specialized training for peacekeepers, particularly in arms control, cantonment, and demobilisation, with many national contingents relying solely on basic military training.
• The document emphasizes that effective information gathering and intelligence are essential for mission security and success, yet these capabilities are often neglected or viewed as hostile by belligerent parties.
• The authors contrast successful missions like UNTAG in Namibia and the CMF in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, which had clear authority and regional support, with failed missions in Somalia and Angola that lacked such foundations.

APA

Gamba, V., & Potgieter, J. (1997). Evolution and Challenges. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono8.pdf

Chicago

Gamba, Virginia, and Jakkie Potgieter. Evolution and Challenges. Institute for Security Studies, 1997. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono8.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gamba |first1=Virginia |last2=Potgieter |first2=Jakkie |title=Evolution and Challenges |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=January 1997 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono8.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gamba1997evolution, author = {Gamba, Virginia and Potgieter, Jakkie}, title = {{Evolution and Challenges}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1997}, month = jan, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono8.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }