Ender McDuff's ARIA project:Ìý"Bottom up" Protection in the United Nations
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The protection of civilians in situations of conflict has been an overarching priority for the United Nations (UN) since the end of the Cold War. While the UN has traditionally pursued this agenda through ‘Blue Helmet’ peacekeeping operations (PKOs) and by strengthening the capacity of national authorities to protect their own populations, the UN has increasingly emphasized the ‘primacy of the local,’ as manifested in greater willingness to engage with and support community self-protection mechanisms and people-centred peacekeeping.
My ARIA project, under the supervision of Professor Jennifer Welsh and Professor Emily Paddon Rhoads, analyzed this pivot in the UN’s approach to protection and sought to identify its implications for the organization. This work involved tracing the evolution of ‘bottom-up’ approaches to protection both at the UN and at several leading international non-government operations, in order to explain why the UN, an institution that has worked tirelessly to establish itself as a credible protection actor, has now pivoted to emphasize the primacy of the local. My research also sought to identify the political dynamics surrounding this shift and assess what implications it may have for the UN’s core business of peace operations. This research contributes to two forthcoming academic articles being written by Professor Welsh and Professor Rhoads.
I was interested in taking part in the ARIA project because of the unique opportunity it offered me to work closely with my professors, as well as to gain experience conducting high-level academic research and writing. The invaluable mentorship I received from both Professors Welsh and Rhoads helped me to become a better scholar, which I trust will benefit me greatly in my future studies. The ARIA project was also an ideal work opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as my research was unaffected by the ongoing health crisis.
By studying people-centred civilian protection at the UN, I hoped to learn how to effectively analyze practices of public policy and global governance. In this respect, this research agenda afforded me a rare opportunity to connect my theory-driven Political Science background with the more concrete policy and legal work I hope to pursue following my time at 69ÈÈÊÓƵ. I also hope that by engaging with the issues of civilian self-protection and UN peacekeeping, I have developed a deeper appreciation for the incredible adversity millions of individuals around the world face daily and a greater understanding of the role good governance and policy can play in remedying these injustices.
There were numerous highlights throughout my summer, but two that stand out were when I was tasked with providing research both for a report assessing the effectiveness of PKOs that was sent to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and a second report that will advise the Government of Canada on its own strategic foreign policy review. These projects provided me with a unique glimpse into how academic research can inform policy work at some of the highest levels of government. The former of these reports was also presented to the UN during the summer, which allowed me to both see the completed product and hear the discussion it generated.
The greatest challenge I encountered while conducting my research was how to remain focused while working from home amid a global pandemic. Admittedly, literature reviews can become tiresome at the best of times, and having to then remain accountable to only yourself while working from home adds a daunting additional challenge. To overcome this obstacle, I took advantage of the unique opportunities afforded to me by working at home by taking breaks to play basketball or guitar whenever I found my focus waning. I then set frequent deadlines for well-defined tasks to ensure that I remained motivated and on track to complete my work.
Participating in the ARIA program helped to reaffirm my belief that by partnering good governance with innovative policy solutions, the world can be made a more just place. It also demonstrated to me the important connections between academic research and field work/governance. I firmly believe these insights, as well as the invaluable mentorship I received, will help to shape my future education and career path as I continue my studies at law school in 2021—where I hope to contribute to further research that informs governance practices and policy implementation—and thereafter seek to work in public policy.
The opportunity to be a part of the 2020 ARIA cohort was a tremendous privilege and invaluable experience. I would like to thank both Professor Welsh and Professor Rhoads for their guidance and trust as I completed this work. I would also like to thank Mr. Harry Samuel for generously funding my Arts Internship Research Award.
