Organizational Learning in UN Peace Operations: Theoretical Conception and Practical Experiences with a Focus on the Protection of Civilians

UN Peace Operations are highly complex organizational constructions. The mission itself, its administrative support as well as the formal legitimizing body exist within differing external environments and have differing perceptual filters. The more recent missions are also most often integrated missions which consist of several different actors of the UN system that themselves carry different organizational cultures as well as motivations and goals of their activities. Besides this background of substantial complexity, the mission is also challenged by a mandate that comprises the different fundamental organizational norms of the United Nations, namely the national sovereignty, the principle of non-interference as well as human rights and humanitarian law. These norms are often contradicting and need to be weighed against each other in times of crisis. Before this background, the present thesis questions which factors enable or hinder organizational learning within and between UN Peace Operations concerning the Protection of Civilians (PoC). In this context, the UN is being diverted into an analytical three-level system and the flow of individual and codified knowledge between these levels is being traced. The theoretical basis of this thesis will use existent research on organizational learning in international organizations as well as UN Peace Operations to create an analytical framework including the different influence factors identified in earlier research projects. Based on this analytical framework and the theoretical understanding of the Protection of Civilians-framing within the UN, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is chosen as a case study to test the theoretically developed understanding of Organizational Learning. UNMISS can be seen as relevant, as the mission was originally mandated with a state- and institution-building mandate in a relatively stable environment. Due to the eruption of large scale violence within the country including the participation of state forces in December 2013, the mandate had to be adapted to a strong PoC focus. Based on a qualitative content analysis, the relevant influencing factors regarding decision-making processes on each level of the organization will be identified and a learning process related to UNMISS’ experiences is being traced.