Peacekeeping in South Sudan : One Year of Lessons From Under the Blue Beret

A scholarly perspective of a soldier's own challenges working in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). This work examines how regional/cultural knowledge and language ability contribute to improved leadership in a UN operation, based on the author's own experiences as a staff officer in South Sudan. Over the last fifteen years, the U.S. military has realized culture matters and that American forces are more effective in nation-building if soldiers know more about the peoples and places where they serve. Building on this supposition, this book examines how cross-cultural competence and language ability contribute to improved teamwork and leadership in complex multinational operations, focusing on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The chapters analyze the dynamics within the mission as well as influences from the surrounding society and how they affect success within the diverse peacekeeping environment. The work then concludes with a look at leadership effectiveness and enduring lessons from within UNMISS. Author Robert Munson draws on his own rich background, academic mindset (including field research in Africa), as well as his U.S. Air Force experience to provide an encompassing examination of this peacekeeping operation from his own mid-level perspective, giving depth to the conclusions through historical comparisons and contemporary stories and observations Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 List of Maps and Figures 10 Acronyms and Abbreviations 12 Introduction and Acknowledgments 14 1 As a Guinea Pig in South Sudan 16 2 Does the United States Do Peacekeeping? 23 3 Why Are We Here? 38 4 There Is No Intelligence in the UN: Working for UNMISS 47 5 J-5: Where Hope Was (Often) a Plan 60 6 Does PoC Mean “Protection of Cattle”? 71 7 Two Flags, Two Perceptions: Life in UNMISS 84 8 Living an UNMISS Life in Juba and South Sudan 95 9 UN-English and Other Curious Habits 111 10 Christianity Does Not Stay in the Church 121 11 I’m Here, They Are There 132 Coming Home 137 12 Tying It All Together 139 Comprehension and Appreciation 139 Effectiveness 148 Last Thoughts and Enduring Lessons 152 Notes 157 Chapter 1 157 Chapter 2 157 Chapter 3 160 Chapter 4 161 Chapter 5 162 Chapter 6 162 Chapter 7 164 Chapter 8 164 Chapter 9 164 Chapter 10 165 Chapter 12 166 Bibliography 168 United Nation’s Documents 170 United States’ Documents 170 Index 171 Front Matter....Pages i-xiv As a Guinea Pig in South Sudan....Pages 1-7 Does the United States Do Peacekeeping?....Pages 9-23 Why Are We Here?....Pages 25-33 There Is No Intelligence in the UN: Working for UNMISS....Pages 35-47 J-5: Where Hope Was (Often) a Plan....Pages 49-59 Does PoC Mean “Protection of Cattle”?....Pages 61-73 Two Flags, Two Perceptions: Life in UNMISS....Pages 75-85 Living an UNMISS Life in Juba and South Sudan....Pages 87-102 UN-English and Other Curious Habits....Pages 103-112 Christianity Does Not Stay in the Church....Pages 113-123 I’m Here, They Are There....Pages 125-131 Tying It All Together....Pages 133-150 Back Matter....Pages 151-172