ILLICON Analysis of Ellingsrud Test Fill

The 50-m diameter test fill at Ellingsrud, Norway was constructed by NGI to determine preconsolidation pressure of a soft clay, mobilized under field conditions. The height of the fill was increased in four increments during 1972 to 1978. Settlement observations as well as pore water pressure measurements over a period of eleven years are used to evaluate predictions made by the ILLICON computer program. ILLICON analysis requires vertical profiles of compressibility and permeability parameters. The computed surface settlements are within 2 cm of the measured values during the first three loading stages. After the fourth loading, there is a larger range in the measured settlements, however, the computed values lie within the measured range. The computed pore water pressures are also in reasonable agreement with the observations. However, compressibility and permeability data for major depth intervals of the 24m soil profile are not available. Therefore, in spite of good agreement between prediction and field observation one cannot be completely certain whether the input parameters in fact represent the true condition of the soil

Norms and Practices in UN Peacekeeping: Evolution and Contestation

This is an introduction to a special section of International Peacekeeping

Particularized protection: UNSC mandates and the protection of civilians in armed conflict

The protection of civilians at risk in armed conflict has, since the late 1990s, become institutionalized at the United Nations (UN), gaining acceptance as a normative rationale for UN peacekeeping. However, the bulk of civilians in need of protection in armed conflict are unlikely to attain it. The article develops an argument on ‘particularized protection’ - particularized in that UN Security Council (SC) mandates are formulated and adjusted over time to direct mission protection to specific subsets of civilian populations, that is, those relevant to the UN itself, the host state, other states, NGOs and the media, leaving most local civilians receiving little effective protection. Particularized protection, we argue, is a result of the institutional dynamics involving actors producing mandates - the UNSC - and those providing protection - peacekeeping missions - whereby mandates are specified to direct mission protection to selected, particularized groups. We demonstrate these dynamics in two cases, Côte d’Ivoire and Somalia

UN Peacekeeping at 75: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects

This year marks the 75th anniversary of what the UN itself understands to be its first peacekeeping operation. It is therefore an appropriate time to reflect on the track record of UN peacekeeping in its efforts to try to maintain and realize peace and security. Moreover, this milestone invites us to ponder what lies ahead in the realm of peacekeeping. For this reason, this forum article brings together both academics and UN officials to assess the achievements and challenges of UN peacekeeping over the past 75 years. Through a dialogue among peacekeeping scholars and practitioners, we hope to identify current trends and developments in UN peacekeeping, as well as explore priorities for the future to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations in terms of achieving their mandate objectives, such as maintaining peace, protecting civilians, promoting human rights, and facilitating reconciliation. This forum article is structured into six thematic sections, each shedding light on various aspects of UN peacekeeping: (1) foundational principles of UN peacekeeping - namely, consent, impartiality, and the (non-)use of force; (2) protection of civilians; (3) the primacy of politics; (4) early warning; (5) cooperation with regional organizations; and (6) the changing geopolitical landscape in which UN peacekeeping operates