Partnering for Peace: Implications and Dilemmas

Peacekeeping is an overburdened and politically fragmented institution. To address peacekeeping's predicament the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations' (DPKO's) ‘New Horizon’ agenda proposes to strengthen and deepen internal and external partnerships with the aim of providing rapid, robust and accepted capability-driven responses to conflict. This article explores the implications of such partnerships for peacekeeping, its core principles and the UN's legitimacy as the primary actor tasked with maintaining international peace and security. The author cautions against prioritizing external partnerships at the expense of strengthening meaningful internal partnerships, shoring up political will and clarifying vision and expectations among the Security Council, the Secretariat, member states and, in particular, troop-contributing countries.