IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/compsc/v42y2025i2p168-189.html

UN peacekeeping presence and local food security outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Lindberg Bromley

    (8097Uppsala University, Sweden; University of Queensland, Australia)

  • Nina von Uexkull

    (8097Uppsala University, Sweden)

Abstract

A now extensive literature examines effects of international peacekeeping on conflict-affected countries’ war-to-peace transitions. Still, we know little about how impactful peacekeeping is in stemming a wider set of hardships affecting host communities, such as hunger. Addressing this gap, we theorize and empirically examine the relationship between local UN peacekeeping deployment and food security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Liberia. The results suggest an overall positive but substantively modest association between peacekeeping presence and more food secure communities—proxied by stunting rates in children—and point to context-specific variation. We conclude by discussing implications for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Lindberg Bromley & Nina von Uexkull, 2025. "UN peacekeeping presence and local food security outcomes," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 42(2), pages 168-189, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:42:y:2025:i:2:p:168-189
    DOI: 10.1177/07388942241237727
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07388942241237727
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/07388942241237727?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pangaribowo, Evita Hanie & Gerber, Nicolas & Torero, Maximo, 2013. "Food and Nutrition Security Indicators: A Review," Working Papers 147911, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    2. Walter, Barbara F. & Howard, Lise Morje & Fortna, V. Page, 2021. "The Extraordinary Relationship between Peacekeeping and Peace," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 1705-1722, October.
    3. Deniz Cil & Hanne Fjelde & Lisa Hultman & Desirée Nilsson, 2020. "Mapping blue helmets: Introducing the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(2), pages 360-370, March.
    4. Tranchant, Jean-Pierre & Gelli, Aulo & Bliznashka, Lilia & Diallo, Amadou Sekou & Sacko, Moussa & Assima, Amidou & Siegel, Emily H. & Aurino, Elisabetta & Masset, Edoardo, 2019. "The impact of food assistance on food insecure populations during conflict: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 185-202.
    5. Ruggeri, Andrea & Dorussen, Han & Gizelis, Theodora-Ismene, 2017. "Winning the Peace Locally: UN Peacekeeping and Local Conflict," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 163-185, January.
    6. Beber, Bernd & Gilligan, Michael J. & Guardado, Jenny & Karim, Sabrina, 2017. "Peacekeeping, Compliance with International Norms, and Transactional Sex in Monrovia, Liberia," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 1-30, January.
    7. Anup Phayal, 2019. "UN Troop Deployment and Preventing Violence Against Civilians in Darfur," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(5), pages 757-780, September.
    8. Aaron Osgood-Zimmerman & Anoushka I. Millear & Rebecca W. Stubbs & Chloe Shields & Brandon V. Pickering & Lucas Earl & Nicholas Graetz & Damaris K. Kinyoki & Sarah E. Ray & Samir Bhatt & Annie J. Brow, 2018. "Mapping child growth failure in Africa between 2000 and 2015," Nature, Nature, vol. 555(7694), pages 41-47, March.
    9. Ruggeri, Andrea & Dorussen, Han & Gizelis, Theodora-Ismene, 2018. "On the Frontline Every Day? Subnational Deployment of United Nations Peacekeepers," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 1005-1025, October.
    10. Raul Caruso & Prabin Khadka & Ilaria Petrarca & Roberto Ricciuti, 2017. "The economic impact of peacekeeping. Evidence from South Sudan," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 250-270, March.
    11. Håvard Hegre & Kristina Petrova & Nina von Uexkull, 2020. "Synergies and Trade-Offs in Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Costalli, Stefano, 2014. "Does Peacekeeping Work? A Disaggregated Analysis of Deployment and Violence Reduction in the Bosnian War," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(2), pages 357-380, April.
    13. Sébastien Mary, 2018. "How Much Does Economic Growth Contribute to Child Stunting Reductions?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-18, October.
    14. Doyle, Michael W. & Sambanis, Nicholas, 2000. "International Peacebuilding: A Theoretical and Quantitative Analysis," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 94(4), pages 779-801, December.
    15. Vincenzo Bove & Leandro Elia, 2018. "Economic Development in Peacekeeping Host Countries," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 64(4), pages 712-728.
    16. Tom Bundervoet & Philip Verwimp & Richard Akresh, 2009. "Health and Civil War in Rural Burundi," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    17. Theodora-Ismene Gizelis & Xun Cao, 2021. "A security dividend: Peacekeeping and maternal health outcomes and access," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(2), pages 263-278, March.
    18. Akresh, Richard & Lucchetti, Leonardo & Thirumurthy, Harsha, 2012. "Wars and child health: Evidence from the Eritrean–Ethiopian conflict," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 330-340.
    19. Bove, Vincenzo & Di Salvatore, Jessica & Elia, Leandro & Nisticò, Roberto, 2024. "Mothers at peace: International peacebuilding and post-conflict fertility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    20. Beber, Bernd, 2021. "Do peacekeepers contain conflict? Insights from spatially disaggregated data," Ruhr Economic Papers 931, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    21. Fjelde, Hanne & Hultman, Lisa & Nilsson, Desirée, 2019. "Protection Through Presence: UN Peacekeeping and the Costs of Targeting Civilians," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 73(1), pages 103-131, January.
    22. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    23. Hannah M. Smidt, 2020. "United Nations Peacekeeping Locally: Enabling Conflict Resolution, Reducing Communal Violence," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(2-3), pages 344-372, February.
    24. Eric Mvukiyehe & Cyrus Samii, 2021. "Peacekeeping and development in fragile states: Micro-level evidence from Liberia," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(3), pages 368-383, May.
    25. Siri Aas Rustad & Elisabeth Lio Rosvold & Halvard Buhaug, 2020. "Development Aid, Drought, and Coping Capacity," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 1578-1593, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bove, Vincenzo & Di Salvatore, Jessica & Elia, Leandro & Nisticò, Roberto, 2024. "Mothers at peace: International peacebuilding and post-conflict fertility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Dominic Rohner, 2025. "Conflict," CESifo Working Paper Series 12035, CESifo.
    3. Eric Mvukiyehe & Cyrus Samii, 2021. "Peacekeeping and development in fragile states: Micro-level evidence from Liberia," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(3), pages 368-383, May.
    4. Wakako Maekawa, 2025. "Introducing new data on UN Special Political Mission Mandated Tasks (UNSPMMT)," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 62(6), pages 2148-2161, November.
    5. Andrew Levin, 2024. "The composition of UN peacekeeping operations and aid worker security," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(5), pages 726-743, September.
    6. Wakako Maekawa, 2025. "Effects of the Deployment and Departure of UN Peacekeeping Operations on Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(5), pages 1127-1139, July.
    7. Barış Arı & Theodora-Ismene Gizelis & Wakako Maekawa, 2025. "How United Nations peace operations can help overcome perils to post-conflict elections," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 62(7), pages 2257-2272, December.
    8. Vincenzo Bove & Jessica Di Salvatore & Leandro Elia & Roberto Nisticò, 2022. "Mothers at peace: post-conflict fertility and United Nations peacekeeping," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-126, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Maekawa, Wakako, 2024. "United Nations peacekeeping operations and multilateral foreign aid: Credibility of good governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Susanna P. Campbell & Aila M. Matanock, 2024. "Weapons of the weak state: How post-conflict states shape international statebuilding," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 469-513, September.
    11. Beber, Bernd, 2021. "Do peacekeepers contain conflict? Insights from spatially disaggregated data," Ruhr Economic Papers 931, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    12. Deniz Cil & Hanne Fjelde & Lisa Hultman & Desirée Nilsson, 2020. "Mapping blue helmets: Introducing the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(2), pages 360-370, March.
    13. Vincenzo Bove & Jessica Di Salvatore & Leandro Elia, 2025. "What it Takes to Return: UN Peacekeeping and the Safe Return of Displaced People," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 69(5), pages 898-924, May.
    14. Timothy JA Passmore & Megan Shannon & Morgan Nadeau, 2023. "Financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping, 1990–2010: A new dataset," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 40(1), pages 88-107, January.
    15. Backer, David & Billing, Trey, 2024. "Forecasting the prevalence of child acute malnutrition using environmental and conflict conditions as leading indicators," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    16. Gutiérrez-Romero, Roxana, 2024. "The intergenerational impact of electoral violence on height and human capital," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 608-630.
    17. Leonhard, Lucas Kori, 2025. "Sectoral effects of development aid on post-war violence: spatially disaggregated evidence from the Great Lakes region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    18. Nomikos, William George, 2021. "Peacekeeping and the Enforcement of Intergroup Cooperation: Evidence from Mali," SocArXiv 36j8q, Center for Open Science.
    19. Jason Hartwig, 2025. "The end of rebel rule: Biased peacekeeping interventions and social order," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 62(6), pages 1783-1800, November.
    20. Theodora-Ismene Gizelis & Xun Cao, 2021. "A security dividend: Peacekeeping and maternal health outcomes and access," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(2), pages 263-278, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:42:y:2025:i:2:p:168-189. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://pss.la.psu.edu/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.