Former Force Commanders Gather at the National Defense University for a Book Launch on Peace Operations

October 25, 2024

Coordination was the overarching theme for the Africa Center’s Military Diplomacy: The Experience and Leadership of Former United Nations Force Commanders in the Service of Peace book launch, co-hosted by the Africa Center and the Swedish Defense University, at the National Defense University on October 22^nd. The hybrid event gathered leaders in the peacekeeping domain to discuss the future of peace operations in Africa and the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 2719, as well as to convene former UN force commanders to reflect on their experience and service as leaders. The event is part of a larger Africa Center series of touchpoints between peacekeeping leaders.

Military Diplomacy

“Military diplomacy is something that I would argue is poorly understood; it’s vague to define. … A key message [of the book] from a military point of view, we can and should contribute in other areas also.” LTG (Ret.) Gyllensporre

Dr. Nate Allen, the event’s faculty lead, took to the podium to introduce Military Diplomacy: The Experience and Leadership of Former United Nations Force Commanders in the Service of Peace and the authors participating in the book launch panel: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dr. Dennis Gyllensporre, Major General Cheryl Pearce, and Major General (Ret.) Salihu Uba. Each author began their discussion by reflecting on the book’s title and how it related to their experience as force commanders. In the case of LTG (Ret.) Gyllensporre, Associate Professor at the Swedish Defense University and Former Force Commander of the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), he made a point to differentiate the leadership style needed for force commanders from traditional leadership by emphasizing the importance of also influencing other actors. Because military diplomacy is poorly understood from his perspective, he wanted to elucidate how the military can contribute beyond conventional expectations, explicitly highlighting the three D’s: defense, diplomacy, and development. After explaining the best practices shared between the ten authors’ perspectives, LTG (Ret.) Gyllensporre highlighted mediation as a key military diplomacy skill during his time as a force commander for MINUSMA. LTG (Ret.) Gyllensporre needed to employ different roles, including as a facilitator reporting to the political authority on advancing the peace accords. His position as a force commander with 13,000 troops added consequence to commitments made by the stakeholders.

Evolving Perspectives on Leadership in the UN

Major General Cheryl Pearce, currently the Acting Military Advisor of the Department of Peace Operations at the UN and the Former Force Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), took time to explain how her understanding of peacekeeping within the UN changed when she moved from working for a specific mission to the UN headquarters. MG Pearce talked about developing an integrated mindset in mission planning teams that demands at each decision point: how do we think about each decision? Who knows? Who needs to know? How do we engage them? Despite collaboration slowing things down, she found it key at both levels of the organization. “Sometimes it’s about going slow to go fast.” Dr. Allen agreed and added that her description tied to the pain points of advancing in the military; officials are accustomed to receiving specific orders in the early years of their career, but as they progress and become strategic leaders, the position requires that they instead focus on relationship- and consensus-building.

Coordination in Multidimensional Missions

Major General (Ret.) Salihu Uba expanded on the importance of coordination by describing his work as the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)’s 8^th Force Commander tasked with the mission drawdown. In this instance, Maj. Gen. Uba talked about military diplomacy in the context of a security handover and national election. The circumstances required significant efficiency, given that the force was expected to fulfill its mandate of protecting the host nation and UN personnel with a diminishing force. To meet the moment, Maj. Gen. Uba and his team met regularly, ensured they had a clear delineation of responsibilities, and prioritized training centers to deal with component rotations. Maj. Gen. Uba needed to respond to demands at all levels: he engaged the regional coordination force as a precautionary measure while overseeing the translation of the mandate so every military contingent could understand it.

Dr. Daisy Muibu then provided a closing analysis of each panelist’s discussion points, followed by Dr. Nate Allen opening the question-and-answer portion. Alumni and participants, both in person and online, were welcome to ask questions of the panel.

To learn more about the event and its speakers, click here. To purchase a copy of Military Diplomacy: The Experience and Leadership of Former United Nations Force Commanders in the Service of Peace, click here.