Local perceptions of the legitimacy of peace operations by the UN, regional organizations and individual states – a case study of the Mali conflict

Abstract

This paper addresses two issues that have only been marginally discussed in the literature about peace operations: First, it investigates the legitimacy of peace operations from the perspective of populations of states that receive them. Secondly, it assesses how host populations perceive different types of peace interventions; by the UN, by a regional organization and by an individual state. A conceptual framework of the local legitimacy of peace operations is applied to an analysis of the perceptions of the French, ECOWAS and UN interventions in Mali in 2013–14. Local perception was measured by an analysis of Malian newspaper articles and interviews with (mainly southern) civil society actors. The results suggest that local actors negotiate between pragmatic and ideological conceptions of legitimacy. While French forces are pragmatically valued for their military achievements, they receive little ideological legitimacy. The regional force has high ideological legitimacy but disappoints in its performance on the ground. The UN force scores low in ideological legitimacy and is ambiguous in terms of pragmatic legitimacy.

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