UN Peacekeeping as intervention by invitation: host state consent and the use of force in Security Council-mandated stabilisation operations

ABSTRACT Contemporary UN peacekeeping missions often have Chapter VII mandates and wide authorisations to use force, notably to protect civilians. Since 2010, however, the Security Council has created a new generation of stabilisation missions to support host governments. Peacekeepers in these missions are expected not only to protect civilians but also to combat armed groups, sometimes jointly with state security forces. While this may seem like just the next step in the UN’s gradual drift from traditional to robust peacekeeping, this article argues that stabilisation constitutes a more radical departure from conventional doctrines on the use of force by peacekeepers. In fact, stabilisation should be understood as a distinct form of UN-mandated intervention by invitation.