Analyzing Organizational Change and Adaptation of Civilian Police Components in UN Peace Operations

Abstract

This thesis focuses on International Civilian Police components of UN Peace Operations (CIVPOL). CIVPOL missions have experienced an increasing importance due to the growing involvement of the UN in pacifying war-torn territories by quasi-governmental and multidimensional peacekeeping missions after the end of the Cold War. The underlying research questions are: how do CIVPOL missions deal with problems, how do they find solutions, and what do they do within the framework of their mandate?The thesis applies a problem-solving framework on the basis of organizational theory and garbage can models to adaptation and change processes of CIVPOL missions. It has been argued that organizational and institutional adaptation is necessary due to insufficiencies of the mandate , and it has been hypothesized that adaptation of CIVPOL missions is influenced by four streams : problems, which are encountered by the CIVPOL in five key dimensions; solutions, which consist of four components, the adaptation of the mandate, the development of policies, change of organizational structures, as well as the development of cooperation with international actors; the mandate, which provides the basic framework of the CIVPOL missions; and context providing political support in the environment. On the basis of primary and secondary sources as well as interviews with former UN and OSCE staff, the thesis analyzes four streams along five key dimensions and challenges of CIVPOL missions: the bridging of the deployment (1) and enforcement gap (2), the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants respectively, the restructuring, reorganization, and downsizing of security forces (3), the creation of a local democratic police force (4), and the creation of a functioning judiciary (5). Case studies include the International Police Task Force of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1996-2002, and the United Nations Interim Administration Missions in Kosovo Police (1999-2004).