Ghana has been a beacon of peacekeeping around the world. Since its first United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the Congo in 1960,1 its peacekeeping contingents have been highly respected and lauded for their professionalism and dedication to world peace.1 In the midst of scandals involving UN and Africa Union (AU) peacekeeping troops, the Ghana peace support missions have towered high with respect to discipline and professionalism. Peacekeeping as a doctrinal responsibility is one which Ghana takes seriously.1 This paper investigates the doctrinal triumph of Ghana’s Peace Support Operations (PSO), specifically delineating the historical underpinnings of its PSO, its security policy as relating to PSO, and how that has developed and changed over the years in response to key missions and new challenges on the continent and beyond.
What makes peacekeeping an important goal of Ghana and its military? How can Ghana, with its checkered history of military takeovers pursue the goal of international peacekeeping with such discipline and national pride? Even with its limited resources, Ghana has played and continues to play a role as a pioneer of international peacebuilding and peace support operations.
