Perceptions of Peace Operations in Mozambique: Help or Hindrance to Negotiating a New Social Contract?

Local perceptions of peace operations impact their legitimacy and effectiveness and illustrate how communities perceive peace. This article draws on academic work on perceptions of legitimacy in peace operations and uses primary research data to focus on the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). It argues that peace operations supporting unaccountable governments reinforce a social and political order that many locals find unacceptable while neglecting alternative approaches to peace. The findings suggest that peace operations should prioritise inclusive governance if sustainable peace is to be achieved.

‘We Don't Want Another Observer Mission’: The East African Force and the Politics of Deployment in the DRC

Regional peace operations increasingly use force to support host governments against armed groups. However, the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) reveals ongoing contestation over peace enforcement mandates. This article explores differing expectations among regional leaders, national actors, and Congolese civil society. Drawing on ethnographic research, it shows how the EAC's emphasis on diplomacy over military action became a central tension, contributing to the EACRF's early withdrawal from the DRC.

Neighbours as Peacekeepers: Senegal and the Ambivalence of Proximity in African Regional Interventions

States deploying peacekeepers in their neighbourhood is a growing feature of African interventionism. However, the proximity of intervening neighbours is ambivalent. Examining Senegal’s role in the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia (ECOMIG), we argue that how proximity affects an intervention is also a matter of perceptions. Based on media reports and focus groups, we show a crucial dissonance in Senegalese and Gambian narratives about proximity, influencing the intervention’s on-the-ground (non-)acceptance. The article highlights the relevance of perceptions for understanding the effects of proximity and calls for greater attention to hierarchies within interventions, especially between troop contributors and host societies.

Combat Legitimacy and Robust Peace Operations: Calibrating Military Protection of Civilians

In this article we analyse in what ways patterns of observed peacekeeper activity correspond to, or diverge from, community expectations about when and how force should be used. Based on perception survey data gathered in South Sudan and Somalia with almost 3000 civilians in 2021 we measure how local respondents appraise of military activities in their perceptions of peacekeeping operations. We conclude that ‘combat legitimacy’ is an important local measure of operational and tactical security provision and its protective ability in nonpermissive and volatile mission environments.

Faith in action: Pastor Göte Hedenquist and the Swedish Israel Mission's rescue work in Nazi Vienna

This article examines the activities of the Swedish Israel Mission (SIM) in Nazi-controlled Vienna, exploring its shift from evangelism to rescue efforts. SIM collaborated with the Swedish Missionary Society to aid Jews and Christians of Jewish heritage fleeing Austria. Central to this study is Göte Hedenquist, a Swedish pastor, who was active at SIM’s headquarters in Vienna from 1936 to 1940. The paper explores how Hedenquist’s actions have been interpreted by himself and others in both public and scholarly discourse. The findings offer new perspectives on the motivations andmoral choices of religious leaders during the Holocaust.

Government-organized non-governmental organizations in policy networks: the case of China association for science and technology

With changes in the governance environment, social organizations are increasingly involved in public affairs. Government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs) is a unique type of social organizations positioned at the junction of the state and community. Although GONGOs are easily embedded in policy networks due to their close ties with the government, their operational dynamics within policy networks need to be further explored. This paper analyzes the case of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) under the ‘Mission-Network-Influence’ framework. We begin by examining the evolution of CAST’s mission, and then conduct a social network analysis and content analysis of 272 policies jointly formulated by CAST and other agencies. Results show that GONGOs prioritize public service in their policies. They serve as bridges between the government and the third sector and can even play the leading role in certain policy domains.

Queer tourist venues as sites of clandestine operational cover in World War II Paris

The interconnections between queerness, espionage, and space expose the problematic nature of homosexual covert agents in international relations. This article considers the intersection of sexuality, queerness, war, and tourist space as a means to understand the complex interactions between same-sex desire and the operational objectives of an undercover agent of the United Kingdom’s Special Operations Executive, Major Denis Rake, on mission to France as a radio operator between 14 May 1942 and late April 1943. In the mid-1940s, a queer geography was already established in Paris by the time of the German occupation. During this same period, however, the Vichy government made efforts to constrain and limit queer culture in Paris. Rake’s employment at le Boeuf sur le Toit as a drag performer for German tourists enhanced his operational cover, obscuring him from German surveillance.

Australian pastors and local mission: a case for reverse mission

The study outlined in this paper sought to understand the everyday realities of pastoring for eight Australian pastors from Anglican, Baptist, Salvation Army, and Uniting churches. It sought to understand the extent to which it is possible for pastors to engage their congregations in local mission, and the opportunities and constraints on them. Based on the findings of the study, realistic propositions for engaging congregations in mission in their locality were sought. Qualitative methods were utilised, involving interviews with the pastors and analysed by coding and the creation of categories. It was discovered that pastors’ time and energy is stretched, due to government compliance requirements and volunteer numbers have declined since the covid pandemic. This has resulted in challenges keeping church life fully functioning. Little time or energy is left for pastors and congregations for local missional engagement. It is suggested that reverse mission might be a solution to this dilemma. Missionaries from former missionary receiving countries could help these Australian congregations function in local mission. In addition, migrant congregations might jointly run mission initiatives with these predominantly Anglo congregations, teaching and inspiring them in hospitable endeavours.

Missio Dei: perspectives from Filipino Christian migrant workers

This study hopes to widen the global perspective on Christianity by privileging the voices and examining the lived religion of select Filipino Christian migrant workers (FCMWs) in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. By listening to and amplifying the voices of FCMWs, their perspectives and insights on Missio Dei and evangelisation are brought from the margins to the forefront. The study employed qualitative research. The study reveals that the select FCMWs exemplify diverse expressions of faith and mission based on their belief in God, goals in life, role of faith in attaining life aspirations, experiences of God’s presence, and living out one’s faith. The select FCMWs demonstrate the laity's role as key agents in the Christian mission in the age of migration.

Decolonising Mission by Harvey Kwiyani, London: SCM Press, 2025, £30.00 (PBK), ISBN: 9780334063193