Bloomsbury Peacekeeping with no Peace to Keep: The Challenges of the UN Mission in Mali (African Perspectives on Peacebuilding and Leadership)

The past two decades have seen a change in conflict patterns around the globe, with new conflict trends increasingly challenging established response systems. In light of these changes the relevance of UN peace operations has been called into question, with the task of ensuring that responses are fit for purpose posing a significant leadership challenge. In Peacekeeping with No Peace to Keep, Abdoulaye Bathily – who served as Deputy Special Representative for the Secretary General (SRSG) for the UN mission in Mali – provides unique insights into the relevance of effective leadership for building peace. Bathily, with no previous UN experience, accepted the position of SRSG for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), asked to keep the peace in a situation where, as he argues in this book 'there was no peace to keep'. Drawing on these experiences – as well as those gained from his later role as Special Representative to the Secretary General for the mission in Central Africa – Bathily analyses the problems he faced and sets out the lessons he learned in terms of what effective leadership looks like in peacekeeping situations. In particular, Bathily shares insights on how to build and sustain relations with host governments, as well as how to engage the plethora of actors typically present in peacekeeping situations across Africa.