What happens after peacekeepers leave?

Since 1991 and the end of the Cold War, UN peacekeeping missions have increased significantly, in both number and scope.

Gradually, these missions have moved away from maintaining peace between adversaries to performing complex peacebuilding and statebuilding tasks.

But what happens when they leave? 

After Exit is a collaboration between the University of Oxford, Cornell University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

The project team is led by Professor Richard Caplan at the University of Oxford and includes Dr John Gledhill (Oxford), Dr Sabrina Karim (Cornell), Dr Athena Kolbe (UNCW), Dr Maline Meiske (Oxford) and Professor Andrea Ruggeri (Oxford). 

The research team will investigate and document conditions on the ground in countries that have hosted large-scale UN peacekeeping operations – over the five years after UN peacekeepers withdraw.

Combining comprehensive cross-national analysis with case study research, After Exit will make a unique contribution to understandings of peace operations, peacekeeping transitions and the impact of peacekeeper withdrawal.