Peace and Stabilisation Operations

The Centre will contribute to civil-military collaboration in Peace & Stabilisation Operations through active research and training programs.

Peace operations are not new but they continue to develop beyond traditional peacekeeping and require increased integration between civil and military actors. Peace operations impartially make use of diplomatic, civil and military means, normally in pursuit of United Nations Charter purposes and principles, to restore or maintain peace. Peace operations include peacekeeping, peace enforcement and peacebuilding.

'Stabilisation' is a reasonably new term in government lexicon. It complements and draws upon, rather than replaces, existing operational approaches in war fighting and peace operations. Stabilisation is an approach used in violent situations where it is difficult or impossible to pursue conventional military operations. The aim is to assist a legitimate government to (re)establish and sustain the conditions for a durable peace through democratic governance and the rule of law, and sustainable development. Stabilisation may require a degree of coercion to reduce violence sufficiently to allow recovery, development and peacebuilding programs to take root; essentially setting the conditions for the national levers of power (diplomatic, military and economic) to function after partial or even total state collapse. Stabilisation operations may be military or police led. When military-led they include transition from military power to civilian authorities as an essential measure of success.

The success of Peace & Stabilisation Operations rests on a unified strategy and effective collaboration of civil and military organisations�internationally and within the host country.

To help promote civil-military interaction in peace and stabilisation operations the Centre annually conducts the International Peace and Operations Seminar, actively supports the International Challenges Forum (www.challengesforum.org) and will host the Challenges Forum in 2010.