The Principle of Local Ownership in Peacekeeping: A Case Study of MINUSMA

This bachelor's thesis examines the implementation of the local ownership principle in international peace operations, focusing on the case of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The primary objective is to critically evaluate the discrepancy between the declared ambitions of the international community and the actual participation of local actors in a fragile state environment. The theoretical framework introduces critiques of liberal peacebuilding, the concept of institutional legitimacy, hybrid peace theory, and a typology of participation models. The empirical part consists of a qualitative explanatory case study, which first analyzes the official institutional narrative of the United Nations, followed by an examination of field study data. Methodologically, the research utilizes framing analysis and triangulation of primary and secondary sources, while actual participation is assessed through the GPPAC analytical framework. The findings demonstrate that the principle of local ownership was applied primarily as a top-down bureaucratic process that fulfilled only a restrictive model of elite ownership. Rather than empowering local actors, this approach served more as a means of institutional self-legitimation for the mission, inevitably leading to its alienation from the Malian population.