National Factor in the Formation of the Image of Peacekeeping in the Eurasian Space

The formation of a peacekeeping contingent seems to be a difficult task due to the multicultural composition of both the contingent and population of the country where the military contingent is deployed. One of the significant difficulties is the training of peacekeepers to work in the conditions of divergence of habitual traditions and way of life and the accepted rules and norms of the society of the population of the host country. The situation in Cambodia, Angola, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Yugoslavia has clearly reflected the main problems of interaction between peacekeepers and the local population. On the one hand, this fact is related to the specifics of the reflection of peacekeeping in the media, according to the author's content analysis up to 40% of the information from the Internet media contain negative connotations related to crimes both from the peacekeeping contingent and from the local population who abandoned previous commitments, connected with the peacekeeping operation.

This fact correlates with the data of the sociological survey (N = 583, representatives of Russia and the countries of Central Asia), according to which 49.6% of military personnel aged 22-27 consider peacekeeping to be a mostly political action and doubt in its effectiveness. While 31.2% of the respondents consider the language barrier and the difference in cultural aspects to be significant problems of effective interaction. It should be noted that 18.4% when choosing the opportunity to participate in a peacekeeping operation rely on the analysis of conditions in the host country related to national specifics. While more than half of respondents consider the knowledge of traditions and customs of the local population as a guarantee of effective work of peacekeepers. Thus, attention to information coverage of peacekeeping, as well as to the training of a multicultural contingent is quite important for ensuring peace-building.