Shifts in global power and UN peacekeeping performance: India’s rise and its impact on civilian protection in Africa

Do shifts in global power affect the performance of United Nations peacekeeping? While many have studied the impact of rising powers on the global economy, none examine how they impact the structure of the UN's peacekeeping institutions. By engaging in a multi-level analysis, this article links the ascendance of India with the decreased performance of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). By examining the performance of Indian peacekeepers in Congo before and after India's ascension to a seat on the Security Council in 2011, the article illustrates the specific mechanisms through which India's shift on peacekeeping undermined the performance of the mission in North Kivu. Drawing on interviews in Congo and India, the article links India's machinations within the Security Council over the Libyan intervention to the reduced performance of MONUSCO. Specifically, India's decision to withdraw military hardware from the mission and to end reforms designed to improve relations between peacekeepers and Congolese civilians undermined its ability to fulfill its primary mandate of civilian protection. The analysis suggests that the once firm boundary between troop-contributing countries and those that pay for missions is increasingly unstable with negative consequences for civilian protection.