GOING BLUE FROM RED – CHINESE ENGAGEMENT IN THE UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
This paper shall explore the reasons that triggered China to boost its security and economic influence within the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO) as a tool for embracing international challenges. By doing so, China is not just sharing the burden of providing international stability and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but exerting its influence in the process. Analysing the proposed subject, it will be demonstrated that China faces numerous obstacles whilst trying to insert the “Chinese characteristics” within the geopolitical order, geo-economics distribution of wealth and international security architecture. Instead of being perceived as a responsible stakeholder, China`s ambitious initiatives can, additionally, stir the China Threat Theory in the international community. This paper shall be consisted of two parts. The first part will tackle China`s growing footprint within the UNPKO from the end of the Cold War onward. The second part will explore the reasons that triggered China to swift its role within the UNPKO. Both global and domestic reasons will be analysed too.