New Challenges For International Peacekeeping Operations

New challenges for international peacekeeping operations : hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, first session, July 29, 2009.

"This book is essential for enhancing one's understanding of international conflict and for the continued relevance of the UN as a key stakeholder and participant in world affairs." --Maj. Gen. Kristin Lund, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff, UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East (UNTSO) "This outstanding collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the challenges of peacekeeping today." --Dr. Lise Howard, Georgetown University, USA "I would recommend this book to policy makers, peacekeepers and scholars who wish to understand and improve the effectiveness of modern peacekeeping." --Lt. Gen. Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, former Force Commander in the UN missions in the DRC (MONUSCO) and Haiti (MINUSTAH) "This exceptional collection of analyses by experts from both the global North and South will be of interest to practitioners and scholars alike - highly recommended." --Prof. Ramesh Thakur, Australian National University This open access volume explores how UN peace operations are adapting to four trends in the changing global order: (1) the rebalancing of relations between states of the global North and the global South; (2) the rise of regional organisations as providers of peace; (3) the rise of violent extremism and fundamentalist non-state actors; and (4) increasing demands from non-state actors for greater emphasis on human security. It identifies emerging conflict and peace trends (robustness of responses, rise of non-state threats, cross-state conflicts) and puts them in the context of tectonic shifts in the global order (rise of emerging powers, North-South rebalancing, emergence of regional organisations as providers of peace). The volume stimulates a discussion between practitioners and academics, offering an analysis of how the international community collectively makes sense of the changing global order and its implications for UN peace operations. Cedric de Coning is Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway and Senior Advisor for the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), South Africa. Mateja Peter is Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews, UK and Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway.

SIPRI Research Reports is a series of reports on urgent arms control and security subjects. The reports are concise, timely, and authoritative sources of information. SIPRI researchers and commissioned experts present new findings as well as easily accessible collections of officialdocuments and data.

Drawing from a diverse range of military, policing, academic and policymakers’ experiences, this book seeks to provide solutions of how national militaries and police can work together to better support future United Nations peacekeeping operations. It addresses the growing tension between increasing non-combat related responsibilities being placed on land forces and the ability of UN peacekeeping forces to fulfil the demands of government and development tasks in fragile and conflict-affected environments. An original contribution to the debate on UN peacekeeping reforms that includes constructing an enhanced partnership for peacekeeping; building on renewed commitment to share the burden and for regional cooperation; providing peacekeepers with the necessary capabilities to protect civilians; and supporting nations in transition from conflict to stabilisation. This book offers the very latest in informed analysis and decision-making on UN peacekeeping reform.

During the first decade of the twenty-first century, the rising demand for peacekeepers saw the United Nations (UN) operate at a historically unprecedented tempo, with increases in the number and size of missions as well as in the scope and complexity of their mandates. The need to deploy over 120,000 UN peacekeepers and the demands placed upon them in the field have threatened to outstrip the willingness and to some extent capacity of the UN's Member States. This situation raised the questions of why states contribute forces to UN missions and, conversely, what factors inhibit them from doing more? Providing Peacekeepers answers these questions. After summarizing the challenges confronting the UN in its force generation efforts, the book develops a new framework for analyzing UN peacekeeping contributions in light of the evidence presented in sixteen case study chapters which examine the experiences of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Nepal, Uruguay, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, and Japan. The book concludes by offering recommendations for how the UN might develop new strategies for force generation so as to meet the foreseeable challenges of twenty-first century peacekeeping and improve the quantity and quality of its uniformed peacekeepers.

FROST (Copy 2): From the John Holmes Library Collection.