Rising Powers and Global Peacekeeping Governance: India, China, and the Politics of UN Peacekeeping in Africa

This article examines how rising powers, particularly India and China, shape the governance of United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa. It moves beyond portrayals of these states as norm-takers or ambiguous actors. Instead, it argues that both actively influence peacekeeping outcomes. The analysis identifies three mechanisms: material leverage from troop contributions, institutional positioning in the UN Security Council, and discursive interventions in mandate negotiations. Using a process-tracing approach, the article combines troop data, UNSC voting records, and official debates. It shows that India uses its role as a leading troop-contributing country to push for realistic mandate and greater inclusion of troop contributors in mandate formulation. China, by contrast, uses its permanent member status to shape mandate language and signal constraints through strategic abstentions. Across cases, both states often align with African members, especially on sovereignty, sanctions, and host-state consent. The findings show that contemporary peacekeeping governance is increasingly negotiated and reflects a more balanced and plural governance structure shaped by the interaction of Western norms, African agency, and rising power influence.