Retaining Flexibility
Dag Hammarskjöld, the 1958 Summary Study, and the History of UN Peacekeeping
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6189508 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brian Drohan (0009-0005-3648-5657, United States Military Academy USA West Point, New York, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 119-135 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-08 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Governance A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1075-2846 • E-ISSN: 1942-6720 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/19426720-02902009 |
| OpenAlex | W4380077279 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 8 |
Although UN peace operations began with unarmed observer missions in 1948–1949, the first armed force—the UN Emergency Force (UNEF)—was deployed in 1956 due to the Suez crisis. Scholars and practitioners have since interpreted the UN Secretariat’s 1958 study of that experience, called the Summary Study, as a foundational text in the history of UN peacekeeping because it supposedly codified the key principles of impartiality, nonuse of force, and consent. But much of the Summary Study’s origin story is inaccurate or unknown. By explaining Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld’s intentions for the study, as well as how those intentions changed, this article argues that far from “codifying” foundational principles, the Summary Study did the opposite: it ensured that future peacekeeping operations would continue on an ad hoc, flexible basis that permitted the Secretary-General and Member States to exercise a wide range of discretion in determining how to conduct future operations
Adjudication · Discretion · Economics · Impartiality · International law · Jus ad bellum · Management · Peacekeeping · Political science · Public international law · Use of force · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |