Sustaining Effective UN Peace Operations in an Era of Geopolitical Turbulence

November 5, 8:00-10:00 AM | Permanent Mission of Norway to the UN, 1 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza #35, New York, NY 10017 (885 2nd Avenue, between 47th and 48th Street)

Multilateral conflict management and peace operations are in a state of flux. In the face of enormous challenges, the world is more divided than it has been for a long time. With the shift away from the global, rules-based order, governments have a broadening scope of conflict management approaches and norms, as well as geopolitical alliances, to choose from. At the same time, global development cooperation is decreasing dramatically and thus non-military resources for conflict management are limited. The new US administration is compounding this with a more isolationist foreign policy and major cuts to its international aid. Meanwhile, EU member states are focusing more on national defence; ad hoc coalitions and bilateral security interventions are on the rise; China and the Gulf States, for example, are taking on new mediation roles; and a broader question on the future of African-led peace operations looms. Amid these new developments, multilateral conflict management is becoming increasingly challenging, fragmented, deinstitutionalized, and militarized. Analysis of the challenges and opportunities, as well as dialogues about the future are urgently needed. 

To this end, the New Geopolitics of Conflict Management initiative, a collaboration between the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), held two meetings – in Dakar and in Addis – to discuss the future of conflict management and peace operations, focusing on practical ways to adapt tools to respond to the challenges at hand.

While UN peace operations must adapt to rising global challenges, intensifying geopolitical polarization, reduced funding and rapid reconfiguration of the world order, learning from past efforts remains essential for ensuring future effectiveness. From 2018-2025, the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON)—a network of more than 40 research institutions and think tanks—undertook joint research studies into the effectiveness of specific peace operations and/or thematic mandate areas, publishing a total of 20 reports. In 2025, as an input for the comprehensive review of UN peace operations, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) and NORCAP synthesized the findings of the EPON studies to generate meta-level insights into the key factors that influence the effectiveness and success of peace operations. 

This Peace Operations Review Week event features a presentation of the findings of both endeavors. Expert panels will explore how multilateral conflict management is evolving and what this means for efforts to sustain effective peace operations. 

Please RSVP via this link  

Please direct any questions you may have to Sara Shah (Sara.Batool.Shah@mfa.no) or Cedric de Coning (cdc@nupi.no)

08:00 am - Welcome Remarks by Ambassador Merete Fjeld Brattested, Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations and other co-sponsors (tbc) 

08:05 am - New Geopolitics of Conflict Management and the Future of Peace Operations 

Moderation: Volker Lehmann, Senior Policy Analyst, FES New York 

Jaïr van der Lijn, Director of the SIPRI Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme 

Samira Gaid, Senior Horn analyst, Balqiis Insights 

Reagan Miviri, Researcher and analyst on violence, Ebuteli 

John Karlsrud, Research Professor, NUPI 

Q&A/Panel discussion 

09:00 am - Sustaining Effective UN Peace Operations in the Future: Insights from the Studies Undertaken by the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON) 

Moderation: Cedric de Coning, Research Professor, NUPI/ACCORD 

Annika Hansen, Deputy Head Policy, Partnership & Innovation, ZIF 

Charles T. Hunt, Professor of International Relations in the School of Global, Urban & Social Studies and Director of the South Pacific Initiative at RMIT 

Lotte Vermeij, Senior Expert on Sexual Violence in Conflict and UN Peace Operations, NORCAP 

Emma Birikorang, Acting Director of Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) 

Q&A/Panel discussion 

09:50 am - Closing reflections 

David Haeri, Director, Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training, DPO 

Alexandra Fong, Deputy Director, Policy and Mediation Division, DPP