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RESEARCH VIDEOS & PODCASTS
21 January 2026

CCDP Spotlight Podcast | Special Episode: UN Peace Missions in a Changing World

Margaux Pinaud speaks with Sara Hellmüller, Fanny BADACHE,PhD, and Bilal Salaymeh about how shifts in global politics are reshaping United Nations peace missions and their mandates. Drawing on findings from the five-year research projects, the conversation explores how changes in world order, especially the move toward multipolarity, affect the scope, effectiveness, and political foundations of UN peace operations. The episode also highlights how this research has been translated into real-world tools, including the UN Peace Missions Mandates and Methods (UNPMM) dataset and app, and looks ahead to new research directions at the CCDP.. 

CCDP Jennifer
Jennifer Thornquest
Researcher, Centre on Conflict, Development & Peacebuilding
Consultant, Global Health Centre

Listen on Simplecast.  Listen on Spotify

 

ABOUT THIS PODCAST SPECIAL EPISODE 

UN peace missions remain one of the UN’s primary instruments for maintaining international peace and security, yet their future is increasingly uncertain. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted in the New Agenda for Peace (2023), the unity of purpose that characterized the early post–Cold War period has waned, giving way to a more fragmented global order.

In this episode, Margaux Pinaud is joined by Sara Hellmüller, Fanny Badache, and Bilal Salayme to unpack what these shifts mean for peace missions today. They reflect on the origins of their joint research, the central questions that guided five years of inquiry, and the mixed methods used to analyze both global trends and in-depth case studies.

The discussion examines key findings from the UNPMM dataset, including the evolution of peace mission mandates since 1948 and how recent geopolitical changes have constrained political and peacekeeping missions. The expert guests also reflect on how their research has informed policy debates at the UN Security Council and beyond, and on the challenges of communicating complex research to policymakers, practitioners, and the wider public.

The episode concludes by looking ahead to the next phase of research at the CCDP, including new work on consent and peace operations, and invites listeners to explore the project platforms and tools developed through this work.

🔗 Learn more about the projects: A Child of its Time; Communicating About Peace

🔗 Learn more about the UNPMM dataset website: https://www.peacemissions.info and associated App: on Apple store and Google Play

🔗 Learn more about Sara Hellmüller's new research project on consent, which will go on for another 4 years: Yes, I do

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST SERIES 

The CCDP Spotlight podcast is where research meets practice in addressing today’s most urgent challenges. Each episode features clear and grounded conversations with scholars, practitioners, and policy voices who help make sense of the dynamics shaping conflict, development, and peacebuilding around the world. Alongside these discussions, the show also offers periodic Field Notes Live episodes that follow the stories, questions, and lived experiences emerging from CCDP’s fieldwork and partnerships. Together, these conversations open a space for insight, reflection, and engagement across research, policy, and practice. The CCDP Spotlight podcast is produced by Jennifer Thornquest and the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP).

For more information, please contact: jennifer.thornquest@graduateinstitute.ch