When Blue Helmets Do Battle: Civilian Protection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

For the past fifteen years, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers have had robust mandates that require them to protect civilians and authorize them to use force beyond self-defense to achieve that goal. Despite these changes, longstanding debates on the offensive use of force in peacekeeping continue. This thesis enters into these debates by asking the following question: How does the offensive use of force by UN peacekeepers affect rebel violence against civilians? In particular, it examines UN peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 2000 to the present as a case study. Drawing on both data analysis and qualitative research, this thesis finds that the offensive use of force by UN peacekeepers in the DRC often contributed to a substantial decrease in rebel violence against civilians. These findings demonstrate that the offensive use of force can, in certain contexts, be an effective tool for the protection of civilians. Given this potential, Blue Helmets should have the choice to do battle.

This thesis also presents four factors that influenced whether the offensive use of force contributed to the military defeat of rebels and, in turn, to a decline in violence against civilians. These are the deployment of additional UN peacekeepers, the capacity of rebel groups relative to Blue Helmets and their allies, rebel tactics, and problematic alliances between the government and rebels who commit atrocities. Blue Helmets should take these four factors into account when considering the offensive use of force to protect civilians.