Recent peacekeeping burden sharing

Abstract

This article investigates peacekeeping burden sharing during the period 2001 to 2006 for NATO allies and a more inclusive sample, which contains the main peacekeeping contributors. A Kendall rank correlation test for peacekeeping burdens and gross domestic product is applied to ascertain whether rich countries assume disproportionately large burdens. With recent increases in peacekeeping expenditures, burdens are being disproportionately shouldered by the rich countries for UN-financed operations. For non-UN-financed peacekeeping missions, disproportionality of burden sharing holds for NATO allies but not for the large sample. Unequal burden sharing is most prevalent in the years where peacekeeping spending is the greatest.