Developing Intelligence Capabilities in Support of UN Peace Operations : An Institutional Approach

The objective of the study is twofold: First, to develop an analytical framework that with a few key factors delineates the prospects for developing dedicated intelligence capabilities in support of multilateral peace operations, conducted within the framework of international institutions. Secondly, to apply this analytical framework to the UN case in order to offer a qualified judgment on whether or not the UN has reached a ‘critical juncture’ in the area of ‘peacekeeping intelligence’, involving a significant shift in UN policy towards the use of intelligence in support of UN peace operations. The study draws on insights offered by the literature on new institutional theory. The ambition is to explain prospects for institutional development, in this case, the development of permanent and dedicated intelligence capabilities within the UN system. To that end, a fusion of two specific approaches to new institutional theory – rationalist and historical institutionalism – offers a fruitful theoretical foundation for systematically explaining how a specified policy process unfolds over time. The central argument of the thesis is that primarily three key factors should be considered to determine the prospects for developing intelligence capabilities within international institutions: (1) the configuration of member state interests towards the idea of developing dedicated intelligence capabilities within a given international institution; (2) the distinctive institutional framework of that international institution; and (3) process drivers which are internal and external incontrollable forces that may cause a change in the circumstances within which the previous two factors are determined. The findings also indicate that the UN has indeed reached a critical juncture in the area of peacekeeping intelligence, due to changes in the operational environment of current peace operations, and a change of attitude within the UN Secretariat and among member states. As a result of these changes, several intelligence-related concepts and bodies are currently being developed within the UN system. in that regard, the study documents the envisioned functions of three specific UN entities whose main purpose is to provide intelligence support to UN peace operation