International Peacekeeping Training Centers

This book examines the politics of international peacekeeping training centres as key sites where security is shaped, practised, and legitimised. Focusing on two prominent institutions—the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (Ghana) and the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (Italy)—it investigates how peacekeeping training influences understandings of security Assistance. Based on site-intensive fieldwork, desk research, and interviews, the book analyses how training centres operate at the crossroads of international organisations, national governments, and security forces, with particular attention to Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR), the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), human trafficking, and the role of the European Union. It highlights how indicators, data practices, and symbolic performances are mobilised to claim authority and credibility. The author situates these dynamics within debates in international relations and critical security studies and offers a new perspective on how knowledge is produced, circulated, and used in the governance of security. With its attention to the everyday practices of training in two training centres in Europe and West Africa, this book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, security studies, and African and European politics, as well as practitioners and non-specialist readers interested in peace and security.