Investigating Engagements between International Police Agencies and Non-State Actors in Peace and Stability Operations

This thesis investigates and examines engagements between international policing agencies (IPAs) and non-state security actors (NSAs) within peace and stability operations. It provides a foundational study into the nature of these engagements as a method for enhancing civilian protection and conflict-stabilisation in conflict-affected areas. Throughout the thesis, I examine why such engagements are deemed necessary, their impact as a modality to implement civilian protection and conflict stabilisation mandates, and how they might be utilised in future peace and stability operations. Evaluating engagements between IPAs and NSAs within conflict-affected environments is an important pursuit for academic inquiry; particularly when considering the evolution in the delivery of peace and stability operations and the contemporary challenges they face. For one, scholars of peace operations have catalogued and critiqued an array of failures attributed to state-centric approaches to peacebuilding and security reform (Donais & Barbak, 2021; Dinnen, 2022). This involves the funding and the reform of state police and military institutions as the main approach to stabilising conflict-affected environments. One of the key criticisms of such approaches has been their inability to appreciate and acknowledge the respective local political environments, which are often replete with NSAs as legitimate security and governance providers (Mcloughlin, 2019; Idris, 2019). As peace and stability operations attempt to pivot from these long-winded state building projects (Curran & Hunt, 2020; Hunt, 2020b), increasing the contextual relevance of stabilisation and protection programs remains a pressing challenge. Additionally, wars and violent conflicts are now more common, complex, and unpredictable than ever (Owsiak, Diehl, & Goertz, 2024). We have seen sharp increases in civilian casualties in recent years (Davies, Pettersson & Öberg, 2023), as well as increased scrutiny on the relevance and effectiveness of modern peace and stability operations. Unfortunately, addressing the shortfalls in civilian protection and stabilisation needs is proving to be no simple task. Implementing effective and relevant programs for protection and stabilisation requires a significant amount of reflexivity and appreciation of unique environmental conditions on behalf of agencies and their practitioners. This is made more difficult by increased budget cuts and discord between member states partaking in large multilateral peace and stability operations (UNSG, 2022; 2015; UN, 2023; Osland & Peter, 2021). In the face of these pressing challenges, analysing and evaluating new approaches and mechanisms that can enhance conflict stabilisation and protection outcomes will remain an important task for academics and practitioners. This thesis contributes to this effort, by analysing and investigating an understudied and potentially significant new approach seen in modern peace and stability operations; this being, engagements between IPAs and NSAs for conflict stabilisation and civilian protection. IPAs have become a topical stakeholder in a new era of contemporary peace and stability operations that prioritise civilian protection and short-term stabilisation (Hunt, 2022; Greener, 2011c). Their rise in prominence in the debates surrounding peacekeeping delivery has been concurrent with the steady growth of academic and analytical work that advocates for greater acknowledgement and engagement with local and non-state forms of security governance in conflict-affected environments (Baker, 2009; Podder, 2013). While there have been modern examples of engagements between IPAs and NSAs, such engagements have yet to receive detailed analytical attention regarding their motivations and impact. Here, the thesis argues that it is important to do precisely this, as practical engagement with NSAs remains a challenging and elusive proposition for peace and stability operations. This is despite NSAs often being the legitimate providers of governance, justice, and security mechanisms in some conflict-affected environments. Overall, the analysis provided in this thesis enhances our understanding of how international actors can feasibly engage with NSAs within modern missions, and whether such engagements can be useful and beneficial for current and future operations. To address this gap, the thesis conducts an analysis of select historical engagements between IPAs and NSAs, to understand when such interactions are likely to occur, and if they can have a significant impact on conflict stabilisation mandates. It focuses on three modern case studies where IPAs have been involved in engagements with NSAs for stabilising conflict zones; the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) program in Afghanistan; the New Zealand Police’s (NZP) program in Bougainville; and, UNPOL as part of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNSIFA). Using a critical constructivist analytical framework and qualitative research methods, I examine the motivations and impacts of each engagement and provide a comprehensive assessment of their benefits and limitations to the goals of peace and stability operations. By doing so, the thesis provides a detailed assessment of how these engagements are likely to occur in future operations, and if they can form a viable approach to enhance civilian protection and conflict stabilisation in conflict-affected environments. Overall, the thesis argues that IPA-NSA engagements, in the form of community protection groups, can present useful benefits to missions with conflict stabilisation and civilian protection mandates; particularly in areas of limited statehood. That being said, the thesis provides a detailed account of the benefits and limitations of such engagements, the characteristics required for these engagements to be effective, and defines the likely scenarios where they can be used in other operations. The findings of this study have important implications for scholarship and practitioners of conflict stabilisation, civilian protection and international policing. For scholarship, it has provided a unique and detailed assessment of a promising avenue of non-state engagement in conflict-affected environments, which shows great potential in what has been an uncertain period for peace and stability operations. The thesis also provides a novel analytical framework for analysing and planning such NSA engagement programs, to ensure that they elicit maximum benefits to security mandates, while also mitigating risks to local populations and mission integrity.