Author : Susann Hassan Kassem
Publisher :
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 20,34 MB
Release : 2011
Category : Lebanon, South
ISBN :
Book Description
This thesis examines the activities of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL)--a "peace-keeping" organization--in order to address the dynamics and challenges of this international institution and its work in local communities within a conflict zone. My research focuses on the work of UNIFIL Civil Affairs employees and assesses their relationship to the local population using qualitative analysis of the acceptance or rejection of UNIFIL initiatives, rules, instruments and terms of engagement. UNIFIL was deployed in southern Lebanon in 1978 with the stated objectives "of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the Government of Lebanon in ensuring its effective authority in the area". Following the July/August war of 2006, the size of the UNIFIL mission was significantly expanded from around 2,000 soldiers to a maximum of 15,000. My study seeks to show the implications of this expansion and to trace the "flows of experts, international organizations, and military personnel" in the area. Extensive field research in the village of Blida reflects upon the perceptions of UNIFIL by ordinary people and community leaders, as well as the regulations of the international mandate in light of Lebanese sovereignty and local self-determination. My investigation reveals that while UNIFIL has faced marked criticism for their conflict management and military activities, their so-called "Quick Impact Projects", investment opportunities and humanitarian assistance designed for the immediate benefit of the local community, have led to a partial acceptance of this sizable foreign battalion from the people of southern Lebanon. By looking at this "peace-keeping" mission in a post-9/11 context, this thesis shows how the objectives and implications the War on Terror influenced the design of this mission at the global level. Regarding the mission of UNIFIL in perspective with military interventions pursued by the "international community" in "states of emergency", this thesis questions this particular institution's conceptualization of "peace." In conclusion this anthropological study on UNIFIL aims to deconstruct often naturalized and depoliticized assumptions about the state of conflict, utilizing a critical approach in order to question the often silently accepted "humanitarian interventions" of the past decades.