Scholarly work on peacekeeping and related concerns has undergone a number of transitions, roughly paralleling changes and developments in the practice of peace operations on the global stage.
Practitioners provided the first systematic analysis of peacekeeping operations, with scholars joining the enterprise relatively late. Single case studies have given way to large N research, some of which are now data based.
The exclusive focus on traditional peacekeeping operations has evolved to a consideration of a broader set of peace operations. Among the constants, however, are the focus on explaining mission effectiveness (even as such success is ill- defined) and the largely atheoretical character of the studies.This chapter reviews the major concerns and findings associated with peacekeeping research, with special attention to what scholarly research can tell us about peacekeeping and where significant gaps still remain. A note on terminology is appropriate at the outset. ‘Peacekeeping’ will be used throughout the chapter to designate a wide range of peace operations, recognizing that there are significant variations among them and that different labels are frequently used; indeed, a section below discusses some definitional differences. Distinctions are made, however, when theoretical arguments or empirical findings are applicable to only a subset of operations, such as peace-building ones.