The police component has begun to play a much greater role in peace support operations (PSOs) in recent years. It is a critical component that supports the development and implementation of PSOs’ mandates, yet there are still major gaps in understanding how it is effectively designed and deployed, and what areas need improvement. This is particularly relevant in the context of the African Union (AU), which sees an increasing role for policing from a policy perspective and in the terrain of peacekeeping.
