The Importance of UN Peacekeeping Mission Orientation and Personnel for Environmental Quality

UN peacekeeping is increasingly linked to social and economic outcomes other than the provision of security or peace. Peacekeepers, to this end, are also associated with improvements in environmental quality. This research advances theoretical arguments on peacekeepers’ orientation and personnel composition to shed light on the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Through mandates or direct action on the ground, peacekeeping missions can have a “green” orientation that likely strengthens their commitment to environmental protection. Moreover, civilian personnel can help developing state capacity that is necessary to implement and enforce environmental regulations. I analyze peacekeeping deployments in post-Cold War Africa and use fixed-effects models and matching. The empirical analysis provides evidence that environmental mission orientation and more civilian personnel correlate with better local water quality. This research contributes to our knowledge on peacekeeping operations’ externalities, and it adds to the literature on environmental politics and security studies.