Insecure Spaces: Peacekeeping, Power and Performance in Haiti, Kosovo and Liberia by Doctor Marsha Henry & Doctor Paul Higate

Author:Doctor Marsha Henry & Doctor Paul Higate [Henry, Doctor Marsha & Higate, Doctor Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Developing & Emerging Countries, Social Science, Political Science, Security (National & International), General
ISBN: 9781848137066
Google: RgljDgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
Published: 2013-07-04T10:11:13+00:00

Conclusion

Liberia has not experienced the flare-ups of violence and tension which still characterize Haiti and Kosovo. Explanations for this (relative) peace can be traced in part to the relaxed stance taken by the Blue Helmets to security incidents. In Liberia there was evidence of a ‘hands off’ approach to ex-combatant demonstrations, unlike similar situations witnessed in both Haiti and Kosovo. The broader benevolence of the population meant that military peacekeepers were more likely to encounter allies in their everyday work; here the spaces between the occupiers and their hosts converged on the site of a shared belief in future peace largely bereft of antagonism and resentment from ‘beneficiary’ groups. Yet, despite the obvious progress peacekeepers have made in the country, the contest over ‘humanitarian’ and ‘military space’ preoccupied many working within the NGO community. The longer-term implications of the drive to militarize the mission and prioritize hard security over the provision of services remain unclear. To what extent does this narrow emphasis on security allow host populations to escape their past experience of conflict? At what point do individuals no longer require the presence of arms to feel safe? The threat of ex-combatants, which was frequently couched in terms of their latent ability to create insecurity and plunge the country back into conflict, also shaped perceptions of security loosely configured by the spaces within which they ‘clustered’ in Monrovia. Finally, traces of insecurity remained in the emerging liberal democratic institutions that provided for a burgeoning of urbanized consumerist lifestyle culture. Within the dire economic conditions of a post-conflict country, it was possible to see how the creation of wealth could raise expectations whilst denying some the possibility to live out heavily commodified identities. When we considered this economic model alongside the recent memories of widespread and protracted violence, we remained uncertain as to whether it can be the panacea that brings sustainable peace if host population expectations are not met. Ultimately, Liberia – not unlike both Haiti and Kosovo – is a contested space configured by powerful and less powerful players jostling for ideological and economic influence. The manner in which these struggles shape what it is hoped will be a linear progressive evolution from hard through soft security, and on to a functioning liberal democratic state, remains to be seen.

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