Enablers, disablers and drivers: Understanding incentives and disincentives to use force facing United Nations commanders

This thesis examines the translation of Security Council authorization to use force during peace operations into field level decisions by United Nations (UN) commanders. Drawing on primary research from the second UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), the thesis argues that enhanced mission capacity removed a prior disabling factor. This enabled UN commanders to use force, and five specific drivers motivated them to do so: stopping direct threats to civilians, preventing future threats, protecting the Congolese armed forces, preventing external interference, and ensuring mission credibility. The research uncovered two unexpected findings. First, 'civilian protection' is a pervasive concept for justifying the use of force. Second, other mission objectives acted as disablers, at times precluding the use of force. This may be warranted—even crucial—in some situations, but it may also cause decision makers to hesitate when force would have been an appropriate response.