The Impact of the Discourse of the "Politics of Protection": The Case of the EU and UN Policing and Military Missions to Chad (2007-2010)

This article evaluates the disputed relationship between the doctrines of the responsibility to protect and humanitarian military intervention and their impact through a case study of the European Union and United Nations military and policing operations in Chad, EUFOR Chad, and the United Nations Mission in Central African Republic and Chad, MINURCAT. It shows that the power of the discourse of politics of protection needs to be studied carefully. This article suggests that the EUFOR mission had a negative impact on the protection dynamics of the conflict. EUFOR contributed to a worsening of the human rights and security situation, strengthened the authoritarian rule of President Déby, and promoted political irresponsibility by providing indirect backing for the Justice Equality Movement.