Grassroots initiatives in unarmed peacekeeping

Abstract

The whole world is watching. Governments try to intervene in armed conflicts by sending armed personnel, sometimes under U.N. auspices, to “help.” Frequently soldiers in these new roles have complained that they feel humiliated to be prohibited from responding with their traditional training.

This has been a contributing factor in the recent peacekeeping efforts that have turned to “peace enforcement,” a euphemism for war. As soldiers and global strategic thinkers show themselves to be poorly equipped to transform their role in conflict intervention, there are calls for the development of a non‐violent alternative.

There is a long and rich history of non‐governmental efforts at sending peace missions—known as Peace Brigades, Peace Teams or Peace Armies. Their history runs from the era of the League of Nations to the present day. In total there have been more such citizens’ missions than U.N. peacekeeping missions. These people's actions, however, are not as well known. They are underfunded and can send few volunteers to the field, which leaves them invisible to global media. Peace Teams have been, for the most part, ad hoc efforts instead of issuing from a central authority.