In a state-based international order, the state is understood as the best actor to protect its population. With this in mind, UN peace operations often have mandates to extend state authority. However, by their very nature, peace operations deploy to states whose authority and legitimacy are contested. Without a clear definition of what that authority entails, peace operations and host states must constantly negotiate the content and approaches taken in extending state authority, sometimes resulting in tensions between state and mission. This article examines the process of extending state authority in two cases: the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). It finds that there are evolving and contesting understandings of state authority across and within peace operations, which can limit mission impact and stress key relationships between peace operations and their host state. The article concludes that there is a need for renewed conversations in the UN as to how state authority is understood and supported by UN peace operations.

中文翻译：

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定义国家权力：联合国和平行动努力扩大马里和中非共和国的国家权力

在以国家为基础的国际秩序中，国家被理解为保护其人民的最佳行动者。考虑到这一点，联合国和平行动经常被授权扩大国家权力。然而，就其本质而言，和平行动部署在权威和合法性受到质疑的国家。如果对该权力的含义没有明确的定义，和平行动和东道国必须不断协商扩大国家权力的内容和方法，有时会导致国家与使命之间的紧张关系。本文考察了在两个案例中扩展国家权力的过程：联合国中非共和国多维综合稳定团（MINUSCA）和联合国马里多维综合稳定团（MINUSMA）。研究发现，和平行动之间和内部对国家权威的理解不断演变和相互竞争，这可能会限制任务影响并强调和平行动与其东道国之间的关键关系。文章的结论是，联合国有必要就联合国和平行动如何理解和支持国家权力进行重新对话。