Small and Far Between: Peacekeeping Economies in South Sudan

Abstract

The massive expenditure on UN peacekeeping missions combined with a significant commitment of personnel and infrastructure creates ‘peacekeeping economies’ within host societies. We need to understand when and how peacekeeping economies are created and the kinds of factors that mitigate their occurrence, size and impact. Previous research indicates an overall tendency of UN missions to minimize involvement in host communities’ economies, and considerable variation in the level of economic impact. Especially in insecure environments, the modalities of UN peacekeeping limit the level of economic interaction with host societies. South Sudan is a case in point. Annually about 10,000 people are employed and $1 billion on average spent on peacekeeping in South Sudan. However, at both the macro and micro levels the economic impact of peacekeeping has been overshadowed by the concurrent influx of oil revenue. Oil money has created a boom in the larger towns that dwarfs the impact of peacekeeping activities. The lack of domestic markets and skilled labour reduces opportunities for the missions, and their foreign personnel, to engage in economic transactions with South Sudanese.

Keywords:

• peacekeeping economy
• South Sudan
• oil
• development
• UNMIS
• UNMISS

Acknowledgements

A preliminary version of this article was presented at the 5th European Conference on African Studies, Lisbon, 29 June 2013. Julie Oberting, Fanny Nicolaisen, Daniel Blocq and Kjetil Daatland have in various capacities assisted in collection of data for the project. William Reno, Kristin B. Sandvik and the RCN project group led by Morten Bøås and Kathleen Jennings provided valuable advice and suggestions, but the author is still solely responsible for the final product.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) under the NORGLOBAL programme [grant number 207757].

Notes on Contributor

Øystein H. Rolandsen is a Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and an area specialist for East Africa and the Horn of Africa. He holds a PhD in History and has published broadly on issues related to conflict dynamics and peacebuilding. ([email protected])

ORCID

Øystein H. Rolandsen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5298-9266

Notes

1 See a short overview of this literature in Jennings and Bøås (2015).

2 The research for the article is based on analysis of mission-related documentation, observation in the field since 2006, and by conversations with personnel of the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). In mid-2013 five former UNMIS officers were approached individually and replied to a list of open ended questions. Below these are referred to as Respondents 01-05.

3 UNDPKO, Peacekeeping fact sheets available from: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/factsheet.shtml

4 All references to currency in this article are expressed in US dollars.

5 Estimates based on United Nations annual budget and expenditure reports to the General Assembly. In comparison, the costs of UN missions in Haiti (MINUSTAH) totalled US$3.9 billion and the UN missions in DR Congo (MONUC and MONUSCO) totalled US$8 billion between 2005 and 2013. These figures are calculated based on the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2006–13.

6 As part of the peace agreement the parties formed joint integrated units, which were also supposed to contribute towards domestic security, but these proved to be largely dysfunctional.

7 Estimation based on data in the Government of Southern Sudan Annual Budget (Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning 2014).

8 It is difficult to find accurate and reliable figures for the size of South Sudan's oil revenue and sources are contradictory, but we know that the revenue was in the billions and that it fluctuated considerably.

9 Observation in the field and conversation with UNMIS and UNMISS personnel.

10 Except sodas, Raga had practically nothing to offer a UNMIS military observer, respondent 01, former UNMIS officer.

11 Respondent 04, former UNMIS officer.

12 Respondent 02, former UNMIS officer; see also correspondence with UN management, September 2014.

13 Observation in the field and conversation with UNMIS and UNMISS personnel.

14 For that purpose, the mission built 1,653 housing units in sectorial headquarters, in Khartoum and El Obeid (UN OIOS 2010).

15 During 2015 a team of PRIO researchers led by the present author conducts research funded by the Norwegian MFA on transnational transaction and economic impact of the current civil war in South Sudan.

16 Observation based on UNMIS and UNMISS budget performance reported to the United Nations General Assembly.

17 Respondent 03 UNMIS officer; see also Respondent 05, UNMIS officer; UN OIOS (2008a).

18 Ø. H. Rolandsen, field notes 2006–8 from Aweil, Yei, Torit, Bentiu, Bor and Rumbek.