Bangladesh’s Participation in UN Peacekeeping Mission: An Assessment of Its Socio-economic Implications for Participating Troops

Abstract

This research focuses on the participation of Bangladeshi Troops in UN Peacekeeping Missions and the way that affects their socio-economic status. Bangladesh is participating in the UN Peacekeeping Mission since 1988. Since then, they actively participated in 54 UN Peacekeeping Missions and became one of the highest Troops contributing countries in UN Peacekeeping Mission in the world. This brought great honor and economic benefits for the country. The troops of Bangladesh Armed Forces contributed and sacrificed a lot to make each mission successful and to prove the potentiality of Bangladeshi Peacekeepers in the world arena. Unfortunately, no particular study was conducted on the Bangladeshi UN Peacekeepers in terms of the socio-economic implications of their participation in UN Peacekeeping Mission. However, it is essential to critically assess these socio-economic implications, which could be a guideline for the present and future peacekeepers, how they can be benefited from their participation in such missions. Moreover, this study will bring forth the urge of utilizing the social capitals gained by the troops during the UN Peacekeeping Missions in the forms of experience, confidence and communication skill in their post mission lives. Nevertheless, the unique experiences of the troops gained only by participating in UN Peacekeeping Missions can be of immense value during any national security threat or to manage disasters. This research incorporates primary and cross-sectional data for analysis because both the outcomes of the research work and the subsequent policy implications rely on the quality of data and methodology. In the present study, 200 respondents (including 20 female respondents) aged between 25 and 50 years were selected as the target group, some of whom served in mission twice (between 2010 and 2015). This target group facilitated to generate quantitative data on the operation of the household economy to an in depth enquiry. While collecting the data and related information on respondents’ identity and location, primarily a semi structured questionnaire has been used. Extensive interviews were taken to get detailed information on assets like land, crop, common asset, valuable asset, savings, various sources of income and expenditure were collected. Besides, information on loan and daily food intake of the respondents were included. However, it is argued in this research that participation in UN Peacekeeping Missions is largely making a major contribution to the participating troops of Bangladesh to strengthen and improve their own living standards, social status and economic security and solvency. Nevertheless, if Bangladesh government and Bangladesh Armed Forces authority can provide them proper guidelines about the ways they should be spending their earnings; it will help them a great deal to enhance their socio-economic status to a greater extent by participating in UN Peacekeeping Missions.