Analysing the use of compellence during peace operations

Compellence is a strategy that employs pressure to induce others to take
specific actions. Contemporary international peace operations are expected
to use force, if necessary, to protect civilians and/or maintain and restore
order in the very volatile environment of post-civil war states. This
challenging task requires peacekeepers to proactively change the status quo
through compelling local warring factions to stop violence, disarm, and join
peace processes. This thesis adopts a comparative case study approach,
systematically analyses peace operations in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and
Somalia, and identifies conditions under which compellence is likely to
succeed in peace operations.
The overall finding of the thesis is that there are five conditions which
favour the success of compellence in peace operations: the use of the
gradual-turning-of-the-screw strategy; the actual use of force as the source
of credibility; the achievement of counter-coercion negation as a form of
denial; the achievement of stronghold neutralisation, which is another form
of denial; and the absence of third-party support on the target side. Thus, a
clearly one-sided situation in favour of compellers is necessary because
target armed groups are evasive, and they have higher interests and
stronger motivation than compellers in what is in dispute.
This thesis provides the first systematic attempt to specifically analyse
conditions for the success of compellence in international peace operations.
This study contributes to the literature of compellence by identifying
conditions for its success, focusing on the understudied context of
compellence against non-state actors. The study also contributes to the field
of peace operations by demonstrating how compellence can be a causal
mechanism for achieving their objectives and when it is likely to work. The
findings have practical implications as well. The conditions indicate what
practitioners should achieve to successfully employ the strategy in peace
operations.