This thesis focuses on the peacekeeping partnership between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), in the context of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It investigates the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the peacekeeping partnership between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), in the context of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It investigates the question: “How did the AU and the UN institutional (in)compatibility impact the effectiveness of AMISOM?” Both the practical and executive sides of the institutions involved, and the congruence between the mandate, resources, and activities undertaken are considered when evaluating the effectiveness of the mission. This is done using the congruence component of the analytical framework of Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON). This part of the framework describes the strategic intent, mandate and aims to understand whether the mission has achieved its mandated tasks, and the extent to which there was consensus about this among various stakeholders. While the mission had a clear mandate, the main form of logistical support, the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA), was not designed to do its job. Mainly because it had roots in the UN’s bureaucratic system, UNSOA was never able to meet the expectations of the mandate and objectives of AMISOM. The partnership between the AU and the UN was born out of the mutual recognition that alone, neither of them could cope with the multitude of security challenges facing Somalia. The mission had a peace-enforcement nature but was unable to successfully carry out its mandate and objectives because of the limitation of using peacekeeping logistics. The inability of overcoming the institutional differences between the two organizations has led to the failure to accomplish the mission’s mandate and the additional objectives and has led to an ineffective peacekeeping partnership that was not successful in living up to its full potential. For future peacekeeping partnerships, this means that working on a more equal and consistent relationship between the AU and the UN will likely improve the effectiveness of the collaboration and the mandate, objectives, and activities of the mission.Show less
This research project focuses on the impact of big business in shaping foreign policy. Specifically, it examines the role of oligarchs in Ukraine in the events between 2010 and 2014. The two cases...Show moreThis research project focuses on the impact of big business in shaping foreign policy. Specifically, it examines the role of oligarchs in Ukraine in the events between 2010 and 2014. The two cases that are dealt with are the negotiations around the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union and the 2014 conflicts in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. The project uses a domestic structures approach as exists in Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), that emphasises the properties of political systems in determining the outcome of foreign policy. I argue that the political system as it has developed in Ukraine in recent years has given oligarchs the opportunities to influence Ukrainian foreign policy. In turn, they have used these opportunities to try to impact events around the Association Agreement negotiations and the 2014 conflicts and I conclude that they have been reasonably successful in doing so.Show less
