ployment size for armed troops is just under 3000 and
much smaller in the majority of cases.32 Although 400
police might eliminate civilian casualties altogether,
in practice the average size of such forces is slightly
below that number, and the median size is only six.
The high degree of variability in the size of deployments indicates that the UN tailors missions based
not only on humanitarian need, but logistical and political concerns as well. Thus, whereas peacekeeping
deployment can save many lives, the full potential for
this is often not actualized.
Many recent studies identify international intervention as an effective means of preventing casualties,
both on and off the battlefield, but these benefits may
have other effects and also depend on the form of intervention. Peacekeeping operations are found to help
contain conflict within a geographic region.33 Thus,
even if peacekeepers cannot prevent the violence in
their theater of operation, they can prevent conflict
from spilling over into neighboring regions. Some
studies find that outside intervention, however, may
initia H[