Biography

Lara Klossek is a PhD candidate at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), under the supervision of Prof. Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués and Prof. Esther Barbé. Her PhD is conducted within the framework of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie European Training Network on explaining Global India. She holds a MA degree in South Asian Studies with a focus on Political Science and History from the University of Heidelberg and a BA degree in Political Science and South Asian Studies from the University of Heidelberg. Her thesis examines India and the European Union’s approaches to global governance in peace and security, with a particular focus on  peacekeeping .

PhD Abstract

This thesis explores different understandings of global governance in peace and security using India and the European Union’s approaches to peacekeeping as case studies. This project will consider: What norms do both actors support in UN peacekeeping? Why do India and the EU contest certain norms in UN peacekeeping and which form does the contestation take? The research explores whether differences in normative frameworks in peacekeeping are responsible for India and the EU’s lack of cooperation in the area.

The research presumes a non-linear diffusion of international peacekeeping norms and consequently acknowledges the agency of actors involved in peacekeeping to contest and interpret these norms. It argues that contestation can take place at three different levels: 1) policy-maker at the international level, 2) peacekeeping trainer at the state level and 3) peacekeeper at the local levels. While previous peacekeeping literature has primarily looked at the international level and more recently, following the ‘local turn’, shifted its focus to the local level, this project will add a third dimension by considering the importance of peacekeeping training at the state level.

The research is based on case-study method and uses semi-structured interviews, participatory observation of peacekeeping training and document analysis of training material, UN speeches and other primary sources related to peacekeeping as its main sources.