Mauritania

Mauritania has participated in three UN peacekeeping operations, and it is the second NCC (troops) with the highest amount of participation. First, Mauritania participated with a voluntary contribution of $4,370 to UNFICYP (UNDPI 1996, 708). Second, Mauritania sent UNPOL to MINUSTAH (UN 2005a, par. 3). Finally, UNPOL were sent to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) (UN 2005b, par. 3).

The reasons why Mauritania has not provided troops are related to its internal political environment. Mauritania was in a totalitarian rule for two decades, a coup in 2005 ended President Taya's two decades of authoritarian rule; parliamentary elections in November 2006 are expected to test the willingness of the new military rulers to make way for civilian, democratic rule (BBC 2006aj, par. 1). Despite being in an authoritarian rule, Mauritania was active on promoting international security through its participation in four UN peace operations. It is contradictory why Mauritania contributed while being under authoritarian rule. Because Taya’s presidency was increasingly marked by repression, allegations of electoral fraud, corruption and cronyism, with widespread complaints about the country's new oil wealth being concentrated in a few hands (Ibid.).

Initial variables of the data collection process:

UN/UN peacekeeping policy reform
No record.

Perception of peacekeeping
Mauritania has participated many times and it is the second NCC with the highest number of participation in UN peacekeeping operations. The contradiction resides on the issue that Mauritania was governed by an authoritarian rule during most of the time of its participation. It is not sure what type of support to UN peace operations the new government will provide.

Domestic political environment
Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya, the president, has ruled the country with tight control since he seized power following a military coup in December 1984 (EIU 2006ad, 4).

He initially developed close ties with Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime in Iraq, but cut them following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and cultivated links with the US and France. As a result of donor pressure, he accepted the advent of multipartyism in the early 1990s. Successive presidential and legislative elections have confirmed the dominance of Ould Taya and the ruling Parti républicain démocratique et social (PRDS) over the country’s political scene. (Ibid.)

However, Ould Taya’s regime remains deeply unpopular with large sections of the population, and relies on keeping opposition parties weak through various forms of repression (Ibid., 5). Challenges to his regime are increasingly being mounted through attempted coups d’état—three failed attempts took place between 2003 and 2004. Ould Taya has reacted by tightening his control over the military and the government, but his regime remains vulnerable to a well-organized and well-financed coup attempt. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2009; the next legislative election is due in 2006. (Ibid.)

A coup in 2005 ended President Taya's two decades of authoritarian rule; parliamentary elections in November 2006 are expected to test the willingness of the new military rulers to make way for civilian, democratic rule (BBC 2006aj, par. 1).

Mauritania is currently doing a referendum, “the plan is aimed at making the constitution more democratic and preparing a commission for holding free municipal, parliamentary and presidential elections, which are expected at the end of 2006 and early in 2007” (BBC 2006bm, par. 3).

The military-transitional government under the leadership of Ely Ould Mohamed Vall is set to hand over power in March 2007 following the completion of the democratic transition process. However, with the elections for the National Assembly being largely inconclusive, the make-up of the next government will depend on the presidential election, over which the present government may yet seek to exert some control. (EIU 2006ca, 1)

Domestic economic environment
Mauritania officially banned slavery in 1981 (BBC 2006aj, par. 2). The government has denied accusations that it is still being practiced (Ibid.). One of the world's poorest countries, Mauritania has pinned hopes for future prosperity on the exploitation of its offshore reserves of oil and natural gas (Ibid.).

Military affairs
Mauritania’s armed forces are a powerful element in society (EIU 2006ad, 13). In 2004 they numbered roughly 15,750, with a further 5,000 personnel in the paramilitary gendarmerie and national guard, and 34,000 reservists (Ibid.). The armed forces are active in public works such as sand dune clearance, road maintenance and antilocust campaigns (Ibid.).

Foreign policy
The country forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 1999, one of three Arab nations to have done so (BBC 2006aj, par. 8). Under its former president, Mauritania was an ally of the US in its "war on terror" (Ibid.). American special forces were dispatched to train Mauritanian troops (Ibid.). Many countries have accepted USA support on military issues. Although relations between Mauritania and its neighbors were unstable during the three decades that followed independence, they have improved since the 1990s (EIU 2006ad, 11).

The US is the country’s main Western ally (Ibid., 12). And its relations with the USA have increased.

Although the Ould Taya regime supported Iraq in the 1991 Gulf war, he later changed tack and became an active partner in the US-led war on terror. In late July 2003 the US government announced the provision of an estimated US$100m to Mauritania to help to strengthen its efforts to combat international terrorism, and in 2005 Mauritania was added to the list of countries qualifying for aid under the US Government's Millennium Challenge Account. (Ibid.)

The new transitional government has actively sought closer international relations with the international community after it was initially universally denounced on the international stage (Ibid.). Under the new administration, it is possible that Mauritania contribute troops to UN peace operations.

Additional variables found after the preliminary analysis:

Climate changes
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by DPKO to seek troops
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by contributor countries to engage non-contributor countries
No record.

Meetings organized by other international organizations to engage in dialogue about peacekeeping
Mauritania participates in the Mediterranean Dialogue, which was initiated in 1994 and aims to ensure co-operation on security issues between NATO and non-NATO countries (Ibid., 13).

Ould Taya has held meetings with senior NATO officials, which are largely symbolic in nature, with Mauritania expressing its ongoing support for NATO and the Dialogue. Ould Taya has continually pursued polices that forge closer ties between Mauritania and the West, and the Dialogue forms part of this trend, to the anger of the various Islamist elements within the country. The Dialogue complements the US government’s Pan-Sahel Initiative, which provides Mauritania (and several other Sub-Saharan African countries) with military assistance. (Ibid.)