Peacekeeping Operations: A Neo-Imperial Tool? A critical discourse analysis on the United Nations peacekeeping operations mandate in Haiti and Timor-Leste

Sammanfattning

For 75 years, the United Nations has focused on peacebuilding, with peacekeeping operations serving as the organization's most visible and significant representation. These operations are regarded as one of the most effective methods for helping a nation transition from conflict to peace. The peacekeeping operation has predominantly occurred in the Global South, where it has faced significant criticism for fostering neo-imperial ideas and being seen as a method of transforming the host state from within. The study aims to determine whether UN peacekeeping mandates reinforce colonial hierarchies between the Global North and the Global South, thereby serving as a neo-imperial tool. This will be accomplished by examining two different resolutions establishing peacekeeping operations: MINUSTAH in Haiti and UNMIT in Timor-Leste, to identify any potential neo-imperial tendencies within their mandates. Through a post-colonial lens, combined with Fairclough’s theory of critical discourse analysis, the study reveals that international interventions are often portrayed as neutral, humanitarian, or technically oriented initiatives. Nevertheless, they are significantly shaped by and reflect postcolonial power dynamics. The study also reveals how the language and framework of global governance sustain hierarchies rooted in colonial histories and create hierarchies between the Global North and the Global South.