Big Data, New Technologies, and Sustainable Peace: Challenges and Opportunities for the UN

Abstract

Big data and new technologies have been increasingly acknowledged as critical tools to foster sustainable peace (Colarsei & Mahmood, 2017; Hattotuwa, 2013). In 2018, United Nations (UN) Secretary General released his Strategy on New Technologies to accelerate the technology agenda of the UN. In 2014, the Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping had called for enhanced digital practice and training across all peace operations including the establishment of a cadre of “technology scouts” (UN 2014). However, whilst the UN’s development and humanitarian entities have introduced empirical approaches and digital tools, the peace and security pillar is still in the early stages of exploring data-driven and new technology–based solutions.