Mapping blue helmets: Introducing the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset
| Author | Lisa Hultman,Hanne Fjelde,Desirée Nilsson,Deniz Cil |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343319871978 |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Special Data Feature |
Special Data Feature
Mapping blue helmets: Introducing
the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations
(Geo-PKO) dataset
Deniz Cil
Department of Government and Politics,
University of Maryland
Hanne Fjelde
Department of Peace and Conflict Research,
Uppsala University
Lisa Hultman
Department of Peace and Conflict Research,
Uppsala University
Desire
´e Nilsson
Department of Peace and Conflict Research,
Uppsala University
Abstract
In this article, we introduce the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset, which presents new data on
subnational peacekeeping deployment for all UN missions to Africa, 1994–2014. The Geo-PKO dataset is the most
comprehensive dataset of its kind and enables scholars to address new questions about peacekeeping operations and
their effects by exploring variations in peacekeeping at the subnational level. The dataset offers information on several
key features of peacekeeping deployment at the local level, such as data on the size of deployments and how these vary
over time, as well as information on the location of mission headquarters, the type of peacekeepers deployed, and
which troop-contributing countries deploy to each location. This article describes the data collection process and
illustrates some of the many utilities of this dataset for the scholarly community. For example, we show that
peacekeeping troops are able to reduce battle-related violence in areas with high road density, suggesting that
peacekeepers’ ability to project their power is stronger when they can increase their reach and more easily patrol
larger territories. Hence, our data can fruitfully be combined with information such as socio-economic, geographical
or demographic characteristics, to further explore how peacekeeping operations can contribute to peace and security
in the areas where they operate. By providing fine-grained data on the location of peacekeepers across time and space,
the Geo-PKO dataset should help facilitate important inquires that can push the research agenda on peacekeeping
forward.
Keywords
civil conflict, peacekeeping, subnational data
Introduction
Over the past two decades, the United Nations has
demonstrated greater commitment to enhancing security
in a larger number of countries and increasingly complex
situations through the deployment of peacekeepers. In
the wake of this growing engagement, a vibrant research
agenda has developed to probe the efficiency of UN
peacekeeping in terms of bringing armed conflict to a
halt (e.g. Doyle & Sambanis, 2006; Walter, 2002; Hult-
man, Kathman & Shannon, 2014; Ruggeri, Dorussen &
Gizelis, 2017), protecting civilians (e.g. Hultman, Kath-
man & Shannon, 2013; Kathman & Wood, 2014), and
contributing to a stable post-conflict environment
within and across state borders (e.g. Beardsley, 2011;
Fortna, 2008; Gilligan & Sergenti, 2008; Beardsley &
Gleditsch, 2015), as well as to explore patterns of deploy-
ment and other mission characteristics (Gilligan &
Corresponding author:
dcil@umd.edu
Journal of Peace Research
2020, Vol. 57(2) 360–370
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343319871978
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