06 February 2008

GPPi publishes article on UN peacebuilding and organizational learning

A new article by GPPi Associate Director Thorsten Benner and GPPi Research Associate Philipp Rotmann appeared in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. Entitled "Learning to Learn? UN Peacebuilding and the Challenges of Building a Learning Organization", the piece surveys the evolution of the UN learning infrastructure for peace operations from the early 1990s to 2005.
 
Despite some progress in recent years, Benner and Rotmann argue that the lack of resources, coordination and political will means that turning the UN bureaucracy into a learning organization is unfinished business at best. At the same time, more investment into the infrastructure for analysis and knowledge management in the UN secretariat's Departments of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and Field Support (DFS) remains the most important and promising instrument for member states interested in more effective peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. The current drive for professionalization within these departments needs to be supported and strengthened.
 
While arguing in favor of modern management practices to induce organizational learning and effective knowledge management, Benner and Rotmann warn that bureaucracies' natural tendency toward standardization of procedures is also dangerous. Learning, they argue, "cannot and should not equal the search for a 'one-size-fits-all' template".
 
The article is a product of GPPi's "Learning to Build Peace" project that has been supported by the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF). It is based on a series of personal interviews with UN officials in New York as well as extensive document analysis.
 
For a proof version of the article (in English), please click here.
 
For further questions, please contact Thorsten Benner or Philipp Rotmann.

Back to: News Archive