Research and Studycenter (CERIUM)

/ CERIUM’s Summer School
Peace
OPERATIONS
Montreal, July 8nd to July 13th 2008 /

Université de Montréal’s International

Research and StudyCenter (CERIUM)

Masters Degree Seminar INT 6070A

Director Michel Liégeois

Professor

Université catholique de Louvain

Coordinator Stéphane Tremblay

Coordinator ROP

Université de Montréal

Academic supervisorDavid Morin

PhD Political science

Université du Québec à Montréal

Time8 July -13 July 2008

Location3744 rue Jean Brillant, Montréal H3T1P1

Participants

The conferences are designed for graduate students as well as for external participants interested in the particular themes covered in the course. The aim of this seminar is to present various aspects of peace operations and to encourage students, NGOs, government representatives, and the general public to actively share and engage in dynamic discussions pertaining to peace operation missions and subsequently analyze their failures and successes.

Course Structure

The Masters Seminar comprises 6 sessions in French which will also be delivered in English, hence totaling 12 sessions in all.

There will be two conferences each day. The speaker(s) will give a lecture during the first part of each conference. Following a short break, a second expert will briefly add his/her own perspective on the issues being covered, and the session will finally conclude with an open discussion.

Description

The course will draw together a dozen of scholars and peace operation experts from Canada and Europe working within the precincts of the Universities of Montreal, Moncton, Louvain, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Groupe de recherche et d’information sur la paix et la sécurité (GRIP) or the Pearson Peacekeeping Center.The summer school aims at offering participants a good understanding of current peace operation missions, their transformation, the actors who participate, and the great debates pertaining to its reform.

Readings

Selected readings for each of the conferences will be made available on the seminar’s website. An access code will be allotted to each student.

Evaluation

Students will be graded based on the following requirements:

1. Participation in group discussions10 %

2. Two brief in class presentations on the readings20 %

3. A research Paper70 %

Readings and brief presentations

Students should study all reading material prior to each conference. For each session, 2 or 3 students will be selected on the basis of the selected readings in order to actively participate in discussions taking place during the second half of the conference. These students will be chosen at the start of the conference by the Coordinator and assessed by the lecturer and, if required, by the Academic Director and the Supervisor.

Research Paper

First and foremost, students must choose a subject related to the themes covered in the seminar. A brief written description of the subject and its context (A) must be handed to the supervisor for June 30, 2008. A preliminary approval will be given and the student will have the opportunity to discuss his/her subject with the supervisor or, if need be, with the academic director or one of the lecturers.

At the latest on July 16, a written document of three pages including the subject, a research hypothesis, a proposed methodology, and a preliminary plan (B) must be given to the supervisor. It will have to be accompanied by a bibliography of a minimum of one page. It will be asked of you to pay a great deal of importance to the research effort and to the presentation of the work. And concerning the research, one must pay particular attention to the bibliography. Show that you have exploited library resources (and Internet resources), and that you can properly manipulate the principal tools of reference (abstracts, encyclopaedias, directories). The final work (C), of approximately 30 pages (for undergraduate students approximately 15 pages), must be given to the attention of the supervisor, at the latest on August 10, 2008, with the secretariat of the CERIUM.

Students can make use of the Presentation of work Guide of the Department of Political Science of the Université de Montréal for the formal presentation of their work (

The research paper will be graded on 100, and evaluated according to the following requirements:

Summary 5 %
Defining the subject: Theme, hypothesis, methodology20 %
Development60 %
Sources: Relevance, variety, presentation, etc.10 %
Material Presentation: syntax, spelling, presentation of the bibliography 5 %

Deadlines

Choice of the Research paper’s topic (A)30 June 2008
Theme, hypothesis, methodology and work plan (B)16 July 2008
Final version (C)10 August 2008

Consultation

The Coordinator will be attending each conference and will be available for questions. It will also be possible to schedule an appointment with him: .

Conference details

Day 1 – 8 July 2008

9:00-12:00 AM

An Introduction to Peace Operations

This introductory module aims to provide the basic knowledge required to fully enjoy the subsequent lessons of the Summer School of Peace Operations. To begin with, the presentation recounts the genesis of UN peacekeeping – first observers in Cashmere and Palestine, first Blue Helmets on Suez Canal – and emphasizes the improvised character of these founding peace operations, which were not foreseen by the drafters of the UN Charter.

From these founding operations on, the presentation will review the operational evolutions and doctrinal debates about peacekeeping operations. This look back paves the way to a provisional assessment of peace operations. An overview of the main contemporary challenges will conclude the presentation.

LecturerMichel Liégeois

Professor, International relations theories and Diplomatic and Strategic Issues, Université catholique de Louvain

Readings:

Liégeois, M., Maintien de la paix et diplomatie coercitive – L’organisation des Nations unies à l’épreuve des conflits de l’après-guerre froide, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2003, pp.27-134.

Tavernier, P., Les Casques bleus, Paris, PUF, Collection Que sais-je?, 2007.

Durch, W.J., (ed.), The Evolution of UN Peacekeeping (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993), Introduction pp.2-14.

James, A., Peacekeeping in International Politics, London, International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1990, Introduction: The Nature of Peacekeeping, pp.1-16.

Finlay, T., (ed.), Challenges for the New Peacekeepers, Stockholm, SIPRI Research Report N°12, 1996, 1.The new peacekeepers and the new peacekeeping, pp.2-31.

1:30-4:30 PM

The UN and Peace Operations: Analysis of the Political and Diplomatic Processes

This session will revolve around presenting the United Nations as a body responsible for the safeguard of peace: tensions within the Security Council, how does a decision pertaining to the setting of the agenda take place? What is the Secretary-General’s role? Which process leads to the formulation of policies concerning the deployment of a peace mission? The end of the session will be devoted to an juridical-political intervention on "what is a resolution? ". UN resolutions are not always followed by action. Why? How does one choose to call upon such or such a chapter? How to interpret a resolution without summoning a chapter? When does one call upon the use of the force? Exit strategies will be also evoked.

LecturerUgo Solinas

Political Affairs Officer

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

Guest SpeakerMichel Duval

Former Canadian ambassador to the UN

Général Robin Gagnon

Former Force Commander of the UN mission in Haïti

Readings

Peter Wallensteen and Patrick Johansson, “Security Council Decisions in Perspective”, in David Malone (ed.), The UN Security Council, From the Cold War to the 21st Century, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, p.17-33.

William J. Durch, with Tobias C. Berkman, “Restoring and Maintaining Peace: What we know so Far”, in William J. Durch ed., Twenty First Century Peace Operations, United States Institute of Peace, 2006, p. 1-48.

6:00 PM

Welcome Cocktail

Day 2 – 9 July 2008

9:00-12:00 am

The United Nation’s Peacekeeping New Doctrine

The reform of the security sector is at the heart of contemporary peace operations and takes part in the process of stabilization/sustainability of peace. Ugo Solinas, who takes part in the drafting of the new doctrines within the DPKO will come to present us with the main lines of this reform.

LecturerUgo Solinas

Political Affairs Officer

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

Guest SpeakerXavier Zeebroek

Senior Researcher at GRIP, Belgium

1:00-4:00 pm

The Use of Force in Peace Operations

The lecturer will revisit the concepts of traditional peace maintenance and that of legitimate defence before analyzing their evolution after the Cold War. The workshop will base itself on a triple level analysis: policy, strategic, operational. It will examine through several case studies the rules of engagement at the operational level and the implementation and execution of the responsibility to protect.

LecturerMichel Liégeois

Professor, International relations theories and Diplomatic and Strategic Issues

Université catholique de Louvain

Guest SpeakerJean-François Thibault

Professor of political science, University of Moncton

Readings

Victoria K. Holt and Tobias C. Berckman, The Impossible Mandate? Military Preparedness, the Responsibility to Protect and Modern Peace Operations, The HenryL.StimsonCenter, September 2006, pp. 79–112.

Emmanuel Decaux, «Légalité et légitimité du recours à la force: de la guerre juste à la responsabilité de protéger», Droits fondamentaux, n°5, janvier-décembre 2005.

Suggested readings

Day 3 – 10 July 2008

9:00-12:00 AM

Failed States and State Reconstruction: State Building as a Security Issue?

This session will render possible the study on the evolution of peace operations and the examination of the progresses and contradictions of contemporary peace operations. These indeed beyond the conflict in itself take into account the necessary state rebuilding. Does the UN have the means of putting in place this post-conflict dimension of peace operations?

LecturerMarie-Joëlle Zahar

Professor at the Université de Montréal

Guest Speakersto be confirmed.

Readings

Milliken, Jennifer et Keith Krause, «State Failure, State Collapse, and State Reconstruction: Concepts, Lessons and Strategies», Development and Change, vol. 33 n°5, 2002, pp.753-774.

Ottaway, Marina, “Rebuilding State Institutions in Collapsed States”, Development and Change, vol. 33, n°5, 2002, pp. 1001-1023.

Chopra, Jarat, «Building State Failure in East Timor », Development and Change, vol.33, n°5, 2002, pp. 979-1000.

Suggested Readings

Cox, Marcus, «StateBuilding and Post Conflict Reconstruction: Lessons from Bosnia». Geneva: CASIN, 2001.

Pouligny, Béatrice, «Civil Society and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: Ambiguities of International Programs Aimed at Building ‘New’ Societies”, Security Dialogue vol.36, n°4, 2005, pp.495-510.

1:00-4:00 PM

Technical Difficulties in Implementing Peace Operations

This workshop will deal with the technical aspect of a peace mission. What occurs once a resolution has been voted on? How do contributing countries decide on troops to send? Who takes charge of the operations? Concretely, how are multinational troops to be managed? Who chooses the force commander? What is its role? How is its function articulated and that of the UN secretary-general? How does one extend itself? What are the current difficulties in deploying UN troops (urban wars)?

LecturerGeneral Robin Gagnon

Former Force Commander of the UN mission in Haïti

Guest SpeakerXavier Zeebroek

Senior Researcher at GRIP, in Belgium

Readings

Robin Gagnon, «Une perspective canadienne des opérations de paix: Directives politiques versus impératifs militaires», in Jocelyn Coulon (dir.), Guide du maintien de la paix 2007, CEPES, Athena, 2006, p. 101-112.

Robin Gagnon, «Multilateral Intervention Forces», Policy Option, mars 2001, p. 19-24.

Gender and Peace Operations : Better understanding for more effective action

Men and women are all affected by conflict and humanitarian crises, but not in the same way, nor in the same proportions. The needs for protection and assistance during peace operations, and the challenges connected to peace negotiations, repatriation and reintegration, are not identical for men and women. Crimes against women and girls, such as physical and sexual violence, psychological harassment and trauma, torture and murder are common occurrences that don’t receive enough attention. Using the UNSCR 1325 as a framework, this presentation will provide theoretical and practical examples concerning the integration of the principle of gender equality and women rights in humanitarian and peace support operations. The presentation will also focus on gender based crimes and the special measures against sexual violence, adopted by the UN Secretary General.

LecturerFrançoise Nduwimana

Pearson Peacekeeping Centre

Guest SpeakerJocelyn Coulon

Director of Réseau des opérations de paix

Readings

United Nations/DPKO (2004), Gender Resource Package for Peacekeeping Operations

UNIFEM. Elisabeth Rehn et Elle Jonhson Sirleaf (octobre 2002), Women, war and peace

Nations Unies, Circulaire du Secrétaire général, Dispositions spéciales visant à prévenir l’exploitation et la violence sexuelles. 9 octobre 2003: ST/SGB/2003/13

Nations Unies / Assemblée générale (2005), Stratégie globale visant à éliminer l’exploitation et les abus sexuels dans les opérations de la paix des Nations Unies. A/59/710

Day 5 – 12 July 2008

9:00-12:00 AM

Canada and Peacekeeping: from peacekeeping to peacemaking

Canada is an important actor and partner of peacekeeping at the UN where it holds the chair of the Working Group of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. The session will focus on the review of Canada’s commitment to peacekeeping.

The focus will be on:

Canada’s contribution to establishing peacekeeping, defining its practice and evolution over the past sixty years.
Canada’s contribution in personnel and equipment, and its doctrinal and diplomatic contribution.
Finally, Canada’s progressive commitment to peacemaking missions with regional organizations.

LecturerMichel Duval

Former Canadian ambassador to the UN

Guest speakerMarc André Boivin

Deputy director, Réseau des opérations de paix

Readings

To be confirmed.

1:00-4:00PM

Responsibility to Protect

Is the principle of the «Responsibility to protect» opening a horizon of normative expectation that is promising for the enforcement of human rights? Despite the real efforts made to reconcile state sovereignty with intervention for human protection, the principle, like those controversial right of intervention or duty to intervene, is still cramped in an indeterminacy opposing an apological perspective regarding the practice of unilateral intervention, and an utopian perspective regarding the character of this norm of protection. That indeterminacy lead to the adoption of an ethical posture which contribute to conceal conflicts surrounding R2P upstream, while it reinforce the deformalisation of international law downstream.

LecturerJean-François Thibault

Professor, University of Moncton

Guest SpeakerMichel Duval

Former Canadian ambassador to the UN

Readings

Bellamy, Alex J., «Whither the Responsibility to Protect? Humanitarian Intervention and the 2005 World Summit», Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 20, no 2, 2006, pp. 143-169.

Boisson de Chazournes, Laurence et Luigi Condorelli, «De la ‘Responsabilité de protéger’, ou d’une nouvelle parure pour une notion déjà bien établie», Revue générale de droit international public, vol. 110, no. 1, 2006, pp. 11-18.

Breau, Susan C., «The Impact of the Responsibility to Protect on Peacekeeping», Journal of Conflict & Security Law, vol. 11, no. 3, 2007, pp. 429-464

Commission internationale de l’intervention et de la souveraineté des États (CIISE), La responsabilité de protéger. Rapport de la Commission internationale de l’intervention et de la souveraineté des États, Ottawa, Centre de recherche pour le développement international, 2001.

Decaux, Emmanuel, «Légalité et légitimité du recours à la force: de la guerre juste à la responsabilité de protéger», Droits fondamentaux, no. 5, 2005, pp. 1-19.

Day 6 – 13 July 2008

9:00-12:00AM

Regional security and regionalization of peace operations

This workshop will provide a thorough analysis of contemporary security approaches, by in particular developing the concept of regional security complex (Barry Buzan), the role and typology of regional organizations, but also the way in which are articulated the UN and regional organizations. It will analyze through several case studies the achievements and limitations of the regionalization of peace operations.

LecturerMichel Liégeois

Professor, Université catholique de Louvain

Guest SpeakerUgo Solinas

Political Affairs Officer

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

Readings

Michel Liégeois, «Opérations de paix: la question de la régionalisation», in Jocelyn Coulon (dir.), Guide du maintien de la paix 2005, Montréal, Athena/CEPES, 2004, pp.17-33.
Bastien Nivet, Security by proxy, The EU and (sub-) regional organisations: the case of ECOWAS, EU-ISS Occasional Paper, n°63, March 2006.