Dr. Andreu Solà-Martín is Associate Research Fellow at the Africa Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Bradford. He also lectures at the Open University of Catalonia. He holds a Ph.D. in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford. Dr. Solà-Martín is the author of several papers on peacekeeping and conflict resolution.
2006 0-7734-5625-2 This book is the first comprehensive study on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Its aim is to not only to fill a gap in the literature on peacekeeping, but also to explore the implications and links between the mechanisms put in place by this peacekeeping mission in relation to conflict resolution. MINURSO has halted violent interactions between warring parties, but it failed to implement the other aspects of its mandate.
The first part of this study is structured around three main tasks which are undertaken by MINURSO in response to conflict: peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. MINURSO is also evaluated in light of the conclusions of the Brahimi panel related to reforms to UN Peacekeeping Operations. The second part examines the operative analytical potential of new theoretical grounds in peacekeeping research. In particular, this research explores perspectives from critical theories to look at the links between peacekeeping, Western policies of conflict containment and the parties’ (Morocco and POLISARIO Front) production of power/knowledge.