The impact of the Indian Formed Police Unit in the United Nations Mission in Liberia

Among the United Nations' efforts to incorporate women and women's perspectives in peacekeeping, one attention-grabbing initiative is the deployment of its first all-female Formed Police Unit. Composed of experienced Indian police officers, the female FPU has operated in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) since 2007. Among its successes are increased female recruitment to the Liberia National Police and a reduction of crime in its area of Monrovia. This article uses representative bureaucracy theory to assess the actions and effects of the Indian Unit, and finds that the Unit achieved its results through both passive and active representation, with the signal sent by its presence amplified by its efforts on behalf of Liberian women and girls. The Unit's unusual impacts offer lessons for future peacekeeping missions both with regard to women in peacekeeping and to best practices for policing post-conflict situations.