Despite widespread agreement that effective strategic communications are a necessary part of complex peace operations, many missions struggle to generate relevant capabilities and implement effective campaigns. This article analyzes the experiences of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) as a case study of this problem. Specifically, it examines how the United Nations (UN) tried to fill the gap by hiring a consortium of private firms known as the AU-UN Information Support Team (IST) to wage a strategic communications campaign against al-Shabaab. The IST’s goal was to drive, as well as communicate, AMISOM’s success, improve the mission’s media presence, and develop a communications strategy. The IST played an innovative and important function for AMISOM but suffered from several significant challenges that reduced its effectiveness. The conclusion therefore identifies four main lessons from AMISOM’s experiences that could improve strategic communications for peace operations.

中文翻译：

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和平行动的战略传播：非洲联盟对抗青年党的信息战

尽管普遍认为有效的战略沟通是复杂和平行动的必要组成部分，但许多特派团仍在努力培养相关能力并实施有效的战役。本文分析了非洲联盟驻索马里特派团（非索特派团）的经验，以此作为该问题的案例研究。具体来说，它研究了联合国 (UN) 如何通过聘请一个名为 AU-UN 信息支持团队 (IST) 的私营公司财团来发起针对青年党的战略宣传活动来填补这一空白。IST 的目标是推动和宣传非索特派团的成功，提高特派团的媒体影响力，并制定传播战略。IST 为非索特派团发挥了创新和重要的作用，但遇到了一些降低其效力的重大挑战。