Back to the Future? The Lessons of Counterinsurgency for Contemporary Peace Operations

A recent consensus has emerged within peace operations doctrine validating “robust” or “assertive” peacekeeping as an effective mechanism to intervene in complex and volatile intrastate conflicts. The assertion of the validity of “robust peacekeeping” is problematic due to a lack of empirical evidence supporting the application of this management tool. Yet the similarity between the context and tasks required of such a “robust” intervention and those required in a counterinsurgency campaign allow past counterinsurgency doctrine to act as a yardstick to evaluate contemporary doctrine. Moreover, principles drawn from the British approach to counterinsurgency can inform current peace operations practice. This paper evaluates the content of the new “consensus” through a comparison to the British approach to counterinsurgency and proposes key recommendations for the improvement of peace operations doctrine. The conclusion suggests that the principles of British counterinsurgency can provide a framework to guide the further development of doctrine. The best way forward may be ‘back to the future.’