Searching for a Theory of International Peacekeeping

Abstract

This article offers a critical review of the few existing scholarly attempts to
conceptualize and theorize the study of peacekeeping operations. It reveals
that even though the study of peacekeeping operations is burgeoning,
most of the available literature is idiosyncratic and atheoretical. Although
some authors have recently utilized various concepts from international
relations theory for analysis of peacekeeping operations, the potentially
diverse international peacekeeping theories are yet to be fully integrated
into international relations theory. After inspecting future research agendas
outlined by the leading experts in the field, the author critiques the recent
calls for a "macrotheory" of international peacekeeping.