Diversity in the United Nations Peacekeeping Bureaucracy

About

Workforce diversity is a key issue for United Nations (UN) peace operations, and for the UN as a whole. Yet available academic research has only addressed diversity for military personnel. This research examines the effects of diversity among UN field-based bureaucrats on the daily operations of peace missions. It studies diversity in terms of nationality and gender, and the intersection between the two. 

It adopts an interdisciplinary perspective by bridging diversity research in Public Administration and the literature on IOs and peacekeeping in International Relations. This two-year project has three objectives: 

1. to collect socio-demographic data on civilian staff working in UN peacekeeping operations,
2. to develop an analytical framework to study diversity effects within IOs, 
3. to examine empirically the effects of geographical diversity among civilian peacekeepers on the functioning of peace missions at the level of their management and mandate implementation. 

This study opts for a qualitative methodology based on interviews with UN officials working in two ongoing missions: one peacekeeping operation and one special political mission.

This project will make key contributions to the research on peacekeeping, international bureaucracies, and diversity. At the societal level, this project hopes to impact the work of international civilian missions and sensitize the public to issues of diversity in public organizations more broadly.

Scientific coordination

Fanny Badache 
Chiara Ruffa (CERI-Sciences Po)

Partner

• European Comission

Funding