Please join the Fletcher Russia and Eurasia Program and the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University for a talk by Dmitri Alechkevitch who will discuss contemporary challenges to UN peacekeeping.

Peacekeeping is often described as a flagship activity of the United Nations. It is a unique and – scale-wise – unparalleled way to deploy tens of thousands of ‘blue helmets and berets’ to the world’s most trying environments. At its post–Cold War peak around 2015-16, UN peacekeeping fielded over 100,000 uniformed personnel in 16 missions on four continents. Its annual budget reached $8 billion although it was still less than 0.5% of global military spending. Today, after mission closures and drawdowns, UN Peacekeeping footprint has shrunk to over 67,000 uniformed peacekeepers in 11 operations, backed by a peacekeeping budget of roughly $5.6 billion for 2024–25. How has peacekeeping reached its high point and why does it now find itself under pressure? In this talk, we will examine how UN peacekeeping can adapt to remain the international community’s preferred instrument of collective security in an era of geopolitical competition. We will also touch upon the policy discourse regarding peacekeeping in the former Soviet Union area. Several post-Soviet countries contribute troops and police to UN peacekeeping and voice diplomatic support to the UN peacekeeping enterprise. Yet, the only two UN peacekeeping missions in the region – United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) and United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) – deployed in the 1990s-2000s.

Dmitri Alechkevitch is Policy Adviser in the United Nations Police Division, Department of Peace Operations (DPO). He is responsible for the development of the full range of policies, guidelines, directives and procedures related to the deployment of United Nations Police (UNPOL). Prior to joining the Police Division in 2012, Mr. Alechkevitch worked as Senior Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in 2003-10 and later as Human Rights Officer in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2010-12. During his assignment with the DPO Policy, Evaluation and Training Division’s Knowledge Management Team in 2014-15, Mr. Alechkevitch led the overhaul of the Department of Peace Operation’s knowledge sharing and organizational learning framework, recognized by the UN Joint Inspection Unit as a best practice in the UN system. In 2022, he was Head of the Policy Unit at the United Nations Mine Action Service, engaging with Member States and UN system partners over mine action priorities. Mr. Alechkevitch holds a master’s degree in international relations and European studies from the Central European University and a graduate diploma from the Paul H. Nitze Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Discussion will be conducted under Chatham House rules.

Refreshments will be served. This in-person event is open to the public. Please register via the Google Form here.