The importance of peacekeeping to meeting Australia’s strategic objectives

The unclassified version of Australia’s defence strategic review only mentions peacekeeping directly twice. It refers to Australia’s ‘enviable international reputation as a capable country in military, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations’ and acknowledges that climate-change-driven disasters and mass migration could foster conflict and increase our region’s demand for peacekeeping. It seems to imply that peacekeeping has been and will remain a key activity for the Australian Defence Force, but Australia’s current commitments to peacekeeping are minimal, and the review provides no details on Australian plans to participate in future peace operations.

If Australia wants to meet the review’s recommendations that it meaningfully contribute to the collective security of the Indo-Pacific and to the maintenance of the global rules-based order, then it needs to seriously consider its role in UN peace operations.