Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00223433221082121 |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Special Data Features |
Who leads peace operations? A new dataset
on leadership positions in UN peace
operations, 1948–2019
Nicole Jenne
Pontificia Universidad Cato
´lica de Chile, Institute of Political Science
Abstract
It is widely recognized that UN peace operations have been critically influenced by their leadership personnel in the
field since the first UN peacekeepers were deployed in 1948. But who exactly are th e people that lead peace
operations and decide how these are implemented on the ground? This special data feature introduces a new dataset
on leadership positions in UN peace operations from its interception in 1948 up to 2019. The relevance of different
authorities in peace operations is discussed, followed by an examination of general trends in the data with regards to
the duration of term in different leadership positions, the national and regional origin of peace operations authorities,
and the distribution of gender. It is shown that scholars studying a variety of topics, including policymaking at the
UN, the use of force in peace operations, international responsibilities, and the role of the global south in interna-
tional politics, can benefit from paying closer attention to the question of who occupies leadership positions in UN
peace operations.
Keywords
implementation, leadership, peacekeeping, peace operations, United Nations
Introduction
Peace operations are the United Nation’s most visible
instrument in international security. Today, close to
90,000 peacekeepers are deployed in 12 missions around
the globe. Being a highly decentralized activity, peace-
keeping has been strongly defined not only by the UN’s
headquarters in New York, but also by the field, where
leadership personnel decide how to implement man-
dates. Who are the persons that lead peace operations
on the ground? This special data feature introduces the
first comprehensive dataset on leadership positions in
peace operations.
1
It comprises informa tion on seven
different leadership positions in 70 UN peacekeeping
missions that were deployed between 1948 and 2019,
specifying the country of origin and gender of the respec-
tive office holders as well as their duration of term. So far,
while there has been anecdotal evidence suggesting that
individuals in crucial positions can make a difference (de
Coning, 2010; de Souza, 2015; Karlsrud, 2015a: ch. 4;
Blyth & Cammaert, 2016), we ‘lack a systematic empiri-
cal investigation of leadership’ in peacekeeping (Bove,
Ruggeri & Zwetsloot, 2017: 17).
Who leads missions is relevant not only for scholars of
peace operations, who have recently begun to enquire
into the drivers of leadership appointments (Oksamytna,
Bove & Lundgren, 2021) and their effects on mission
effectiveness (Bove, Ruffa & Ruggeri, 2020). These
assignments are merit-based, but they are also highly
political. Preceding the appointment of individual
leaders by the UN Secretary General is a process of
negotiation and lobbying, as placing nationals in lead-
ing positions offers states possibilities to influence poli-
cies and obtain privileged information from the UN
Corresponding author:
njenne@uc.cl
1
Vincenzo Bove and Andrea Ruggeri assembled data on SRSGs and
Force Commanders for the time period 1989–2019 (see Bove,
Ruggeri & Zwetsloot, 2017; Bove, Ruffa & Ruggeri, 2020).
Journal of Peace Research
2023, Vol. 60(3) 532–544
ªThe Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00223433221082121
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