Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON)

Peace operations are among the most important international mechanisms for contemporary conflict management. However, their effectiveness remains the subject of debate in both the policy and academic communities. International organizations that conduct peace operations, like the United Nations, have come under increasing pressure to justify their impact.

Although various initiatives are underway to improve the ability of these organizations to assess their performance, there is a lack of independent, external research about the effectiveness of peace operations.

To address this gap, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) together with 40 partners from across the globe have established an international network to undertake research into the effectiveness of peace operations. Of these, 18 are included in the NORGLOBAL EPON project. The overall aim of EPON is to enhance the effectiveness of international peace operations, by enabling and supporting collaborative research. The results of these research studies will be shared at seminars in Oslo, Addis Ababa (African Union), Brussels (European Union) and in New York (United Nations).

Over time, EPON will produce a substantial amount of mission-specific research studies, which will be a rich source for further research, for instance, for identifying common factors that influence the effectiveness of peace operations across a broad range of cases. This data will be made available via a dedicated web-based dataset that will be a publicly available repository of knowledge on this topic. EPON has been developed in close coordination and consultation with the UN Department of Peace Operations and the African Union’s Peace Support Operations Division.

EPON is the first global research network that will use a shared methodology to assess the effectiveness of contemporary peace operations. The data generated will be freely available to the global peace operations community, with the overall aim to enhance the effectiveness of international peace operations.

Related projects:

• Support to UN Peace Operations: Ensuring More Effective UN Peace Operations (UNPO) 
• Training for Peace

For frequent project updates, please visit EPON's webpage, where you will find publications from all network partners. By scrolling further down this page, you will find a list of EPON related publications published by NUPI or authored by NUPI researchers from our archive. Key EPON reports are: 

• UNMISS 2022 Mandate Renewal: Risks and Opportunities in an Uncertain Peace Process
• MONUSCO’s 2021 Mandate Renewal: Transition and exit
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on Cyprus (OSASG)
• MINUSMA’s 2021 mandate renewal in uncertain times
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic / MINUSCA
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Mission in the DRC / MONUC – MONUSCO
• Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)

EPON events, news and streams:

• Annual General Meeting of the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network 2020, 8 December 2020

• Framing Peace Operations in a Changing Global Landscape (EPON at Challenges Annual Forum), 7 December 2020

• The relationship between peace operations and humanitarian assistance: Enabling or harmful?, 15 September 2020
• What is the impact of the UN missions in Mali and South Sudan? NUPI event 29 May 2019

Podcasts from EPON:

• What effect is United Nations peacekeeping having in South Sudan?

• Effectiveness of Peace Operations: The case of Mali with Jaïr van der Lijn

• How effective is the African Union mission in Somalia?

• The AMISOM EPON report is available here.
• Findings from three pilot studies carried out by researchers in the EPON Network were presented at the NUPI seminar How effective have the peace operations in Somalia, DR Congo and Mali been? on 26 November 2018. Watch the event on our YouTube channel:

• Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix talked about the status of UN Peace Operations at the NUPI seminar UN Peace Operations in a Changing Global Order on 14 November 2018. At this event, the volume UN Peace Operations in a Changing Global Order, edited by Senior Research Fellows Cedric de Coning og Mateja Peter, was launched. Watch the event on our YouTube channel:

• On 7 November 2018, an EPON panel was organized as part of the Geneva Peace Week, hosted by one of the members of the network: the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and one of the network's Board members, Annika Hilding-Norberg. Here, the network shared the initial findings of the first three pilot studies:

Want to know more about NUPI's work on these topics? Check out our pages on peace operations and the UN.