Public Perceptions of Female Peacekeepers in South Africa and India

Do female peacekeepers improve public perceptions of peacekeeping in police and troop contributing countries? While many practitioners and scholars, as well as the UN, theorize that female peacekeepers may increase the perceived legitimacy of UN peacekeeping among local civilians , gender diversity within peacekeeping units may also improve perceptions of the United Nations and peacekeeping among citizens within troop and police contributing countries. In this survey experiment, I will examine whether the deployment of a mixed gender peacekeeping contingent alters the level of support for UN peacekeeping, perceptions of peacekeepers’ effectiveness, and support the deployment of female peacekeepers relative to an all-male peacekeeping contingent.