Peacekeeping in South Sudan: One Year of Lessons from Under the Blue Beret

176 Pages·1.477 MB·English

by  Robert B. Munson (auth.)

Peacekeeping in South Sudan
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Peacekeeping in South Sudan
One Year of Lessons from Under the Blue Beret
Robert B. Munson
peacekeeping in south sudan
Copyright © Robert B. Munson, 2015.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-50182-0
All rights reserved.
First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—
a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and
has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the
United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-50561-6 ISBN 978-1-137-50183-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137501837
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Munson, Robert B., 1967-
Peacekeeping in South Sudan : one year of lessons from under the blue beret /
Robert B. Munson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
—ISBN 978-1-137-50184-4—
1. United Nations—Peacekeeping forces—South
Sudan. 2. United Nations—Armed Forces—South Sudan. 3. Peace-
building—South Sudan—International cooperation. 4. Peace-building—
South Sudan. 5. Security, International—Sudan—International cooperation.
6. Munson, Robert B. 7. Armed Forces—Officers. I. Title.
JZ6374.M87 2015
962.404'3—dc23
2014046832
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Amnet.
First edition: May 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
I dedicate this book to the five UNMISS soldiers from the Indian Army
killed in an ambush in the South Sudanese state of Jonglei on April 9, 2013.
I had visited their battalion and they received me warmly, but we did not
know each other. The incident, though, brought into sharp focus the dangers
of peacekeeping and for one year we were comrades-in-arms.
Lt. Col. Mahipal Singh
Warrant Officer Shiv Kumar Pal
Sergeant Bharat Sasmal
Sergeant Heera Lal
Private Nand Kishore Joshi
I also dedicate this to my family for sharing me with the United Nations and
the people of South Sudan. They gave me wonderful support from across the
ocean and a warm home to look forward to returning to: my wife, Laura, my
daughters, Amy and Sarah, and my son, Robert.
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Contents
List of Maps and Figures ix
Acronyms and Abbreviations xi
Introduction and Acknowledgments xiii
1 As a Guinea Pig in South Sudan 1
2 Does the United States Do Peacekeeping? 9
3 Why Are We Here? 25
4 There Is No Intelligence in the UN: Working for UNMISS 35
5 J-5: Where Hope Was (Often) a Plan 49
6 Does PoC Mean “Protection of Cattle”? 61
7 Two Flags, Two Perceptions: Life in UNMISS 75
8 Living an UNMISS Life in Juba and South Sudan 87
9 UN-English and Other Curious Habits 103
10 Christianity Does Not Stay in the Church 113
11 I’m Here, They Are There 125
12 Tying It All Together 133
Notes 151
Bibliography 163
Index 167
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List of Maps and Figures
Map 3.1 South Sudan Regional Map 26
Map 4.1 UNMISS Force Deployment in South Sudan 39
Figure 4.1 UNMISS Organization 36
Figure 4.2 UNMISS Force Structure 38