Hinduism is the largest religion in India making up for almost 79 percent of the country’s population. In Hinduism, specifically, the cow is considered sacred, and the consumption of the beef is often entirely avoided and even forbidden by some religious leaders. The limited beef industry in India has, however, led to an underbelly of activities involving dangerous and illegal trade and slaughter of India’s holy cows, including smuggling and theft across the border to its neighbouring countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal). In 2015 it was estimated that around 60,000 cows are smuggled across the border from India to Bangladesh alone. This continues to contribute to a range of historically based geopolitical implications. Using a case study method, this paper explores the issue of cow smuggling in South Asia as a basis for examining and understanding international laws in place for the protection and welfare of animals.

Most distinctly recognised by their blue headwear – typically a beret or helmet – United Nations peacekeepers “help countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace” (United Nations Peacekeeping, n.d.). While peacekeepers themselves represent individuals of ‘peace’, ‘stability’, and ‘protection’, peacekeepers’ uniforms, on the other hand, represent more complex symbols of culture, identity, and of ways of behaving and interacting. More than mere items of clothing, the unique combination of blue headwear with military battledress arguably sees UN peacekeepers as expressions of economic, social, ideological, aesthetic, and symbolic aspects of both colour and material into one complete uniform. With a focus specifically on military peacekeepers, this paper explores the semiosis of UN peacekeepers’ uniforms in which traditional notions of the militarised soldier have been appropriated and reimagined into the figure of the peacekeeper. Evoking what Rubinstein (2008) refers to as ‘symbolic inversion’, this paper seeks to present the contradictory, and sometimes problematic, nature of UN peacekeeping by discussing UN peacekeepers’ uniforms as symbols that have been used by the UN in order to create and sustain institutional power and legitimacy in world politics.

Peacekeeping is regarded by the United Nations (UN) as integral tool for international peace and security in which peacekeepers are sent to conflict-torn countries to help them navigate and rebuild their society to one of peace and stability. It operates within unique spaces of duality, both physically and discursively, wherein notions of 'peace' interacts with 'conflict'. The body of the peacekeeper may also be seen as a complex, albeit contradictory, figure of duality, in which notions of militarised masculinity are appropriated into 'soldiers for peace'. Concerningly, allegations continue to be reported of UN peacekeepers engaging in behavioural misconduct and human rights violations during missions, most notably, sexual exploitation and abuse against host-peacekeeping women and children. The dominant explanation for this issue is gender inequality. Previous studies examining this issue from a 'bottom-up' perspective have primarily focused on micro factors at either the individual or mission level, such as 'militarised masculinities' and 'hypermasculinity' that cause destructive normative behaviours among peacekeepers against vulnerable identities. Feminist studies also tend to point to UN strategies such as 'gender mainstreaming' as a solution to overcoming and preventing sexual exploitation and abuse through the equal representation and contribution of men and women in peacekeeping. While these factors are plausible, they largely neglect a macro-institutional examination of why sexual exploitation and abuse continues to be prevalent in peacekeeping missions worldwide. This study contributes to current knowledge by using empirical interview data to examine the UN's organisational and institutional power structures through a critical power elite framework. Findings reveal that sexual and gender-based violence at the micro peacekeeping mission level occur because of discrepancies at the macro systemic (institutional) and systematic (organisational)-level of UN peacekeeping. This study significantly demonstrates a discrepancy between discourse and action within UN peacekeeping due to unequal elite power dynamics.