Author: Annick C. Nhomba
Peacekeeping is important for a number of reasons. To understand why it's important you have to
know what it is. Peacekeeping refers to the deployment of international personnel to help countries
transition from conflict to lasting peace. The one question we as citizens have to ask is why should
developed countries like the United States invest in peacekeeping? There are several reasons why the
United States should participate in peacekeeping. The biggest reason is that historically the United States
has led with principles and values. Countries looked to the United States because of its states commitment
towards protecting human rights which helped shape international expectations and institutions.. This not
only happened because of the amount of cultural influence the U.S. has had, but also because of the
financial and military power they possess. UN Peacekeeping missions are one of the international
community’s most powerful tools for maintaining global peace and security. UN peacekeepers help
reduce civilian deaths and violence and increase the chance of lasting peace (United Nations n.d.). This is
important because peacekeeping provides a third actor between conflicting countries. Think about it like 2
friends are fighting and a neutral person steps in to de-escalate the situation, prevent further confrontation,
and help maintain peace between them. That third person doesn't necessarily resolve the disagreement,
but their presence can prevent the situation from escalating–peacekeeping is the neutral person. It's
especially important because it helps maintain a ceasefire or prevent further escalated conflict, and this
provides international peace. Because no matter how it is framed, war is not beneficial to the international
community. However, sometimes states, especially powerful ones, tend to prioritize national interest
instead of international stability. To bring this back to the United States, President Donald Trump has used
the slogan “America First” during his first and second term, this essentially pushes the idea of putting the
country's national interest (domestic needs) first before tending to any other nations or people's
needs(Chemnick 2017). In this a specific case, it's less about national interest but more about the
dichotomy between what they have stood for and their actions.
In this political climate, where Trump is in his second term and making certain decisions,
specifically Trump's decision to invade Venezuela and capture the President. For context, on January, 3,
2026, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a
military raid. Trump's reason for the capture was that President Maduro had conducted a number of
drug-related offenses. The U.S. government accused Maduro of running a "narco-state" and leading the
Cartel de los Soles to deliberately flood the U.S. with cocaine and deadly fentanyl. He later stated “We
want peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela, and that includes many from Venezuela
that are now living in the United States and want to go back to their country”(Trump 2026). Was it a noble
cause? Some may argue yes. Nevertheless as a country that says they promote institutions and human
rights, considering the UN charter “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state… ”(United Nations 1945, art. 2(4)).
This pushes us to ask if the capture was truly necessary because according to the
UN Charter, countries are expected to resolve matters in a peaceful manner. These actions could put the
U.S. in the same geopolitical position as Russia and China by undermining the principle of sovereignty
and international law. So there is a clear contrast between what is said and what is done and these actions
show to the world that they can “step on toes” and infringe sovereignty whenever they feel like they are
right in their reasons.
Because of the contrast between its said values and the actions, the U.S. has lost its credibility
within the International community. This is harmful because it sets a precedent for what is the norm in
International Relations. And when this precedent is set, it's more than likely that questions about how
truly effective peacekeeping is if states can just undermine sovereignty and create more conflict and
global instability. Is peacekeeping truly successful or does it just create dependency of the 3rd actor to
keep the peace? This applies specifically to the war between Israel and Lebanon, according to the UN,
peacekeeping only froze the war but it isn't fully resolved yet (UN Peacekeeping 2025). Does this mean
that peacekeeping is successful for temporarily pausing war? Does this mean that peacekeeping requires
the permanent presence of a third-party for there to be stability? The case of Israel and Lebanon raises
questions to whether peacekeeping creates conditions to lasting peace or it just creates dependency. This
doesn't necessarily mean that peacekeeping is ineffective, it means that each mission is different and we
cannot generalize. Preventing deaths and limiting escalations is an achievement.
In itself, there have been missions that have prevented massive atrocities. The concept of
peacekeeping is something that will forever be a cause worth investing towards as a nation because it is a
noble one. However its practicality needs to be reevaluated which isn't a bad thing it just means that times
are changing and thus adjustments are needed. This matters to students because it allows us to understand
that peacekeeping and International relations isn't one dimensional and we shouldn't treat it as such there
are so many more complexities that come into play when analyzing peacekeeping and how it connects to
the U.S. as a nation.
Bibliography
Trump, Donald. 2026.
“Transcript: President Trump Discusses the Capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.” January 3, 2026. The Senate Democratic Caucus.
Chemnick, Jean. 2017.
“Inside Trump’s ‘America First’ Doctrine.” E&E News, June 8, 2017.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/inside-trumps-america-first-doctrine/
United Nations. n.d.
“Peacekeeping.” Accessed October 9, 2026. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/.
United Nations. 1945. Charter of the United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text
United Nations Peacekeeping. 2025.
“UN Peacekeeping Mission Helps Prevent Wider Conflict amid Rising Tensions in the Middle East.” August 22, 2025.
