POLS Seminars Series

Do Military Interventions Harm Trust for the Government?
Evidence from UN Peace Operations  
Jessica Di Salvatore - University of Warwick

Chair: Silvia Decadri - University of Milan

13 February 2024, h.14.30
Room A - NASP Graduate School
Via Pace, 10 - Milan 

Abstract
Rebuilding state legitimacy is a thorny challenge in the aftermath of civil wars. The international community has stepped in to support states in rebuilding state capacity, sometimes replacing governments in providing public goods. Most notably, research shows that UN peacekeepers reduce violence and are de facto security providers. On the one hand, by providing a secure environment, UN peacekeepers may facilitate the functioning of domestic institutions, which could reap the reputational benefit of working with the UN. However, I argue that attribution problems and reputational costs may counter the positive impact of UN's capacity-building efforts. The analysis assesses whether and how external provision of security affects citizens' trust towards the government. The empirical analysis focuses on the case of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) exploiting Afrobarometer's geocoded surveys before and after deployment, combined with subnational deployment data. The article provides insights on how international interventions affect an understudied aspect of state-building – i.e. the legitimacy of institutions they are expected to assist. 

This seminar is part of the POLS International Seminars Series 2024.

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