This volume presents an authoritative and accessible examination and critique of UN peacekeeping operations.

International Peacekeeping is devoted to reporting upon and analyzing international peacekeeping with an emphasis upon legal and policy issues. It provides the interested public - civil servants, politicians, the military, academics, journalists, and others - with an up-to-date source of information on peacekeeping, enabling them to keep abreast of the most important developments in the field. This is achieved not only by the provision of 'basic documents' (on CD ROM), such as Security Council Resolutions or Reports from the UN Secretary-General, but also by expert commentaries on world events connected with peacekeeping operations. Thus, International Peacekeeping not only has a recording and documentary function, for those who wish to be kept well-informed, but also plays a role in forming opinions on the further development of peacekeeping as an instrument. Peacekeeping is treated in a pragmatic light, seen as a form of international military cooperation for the preservation or restoration of international peace and security, attention being focused primarily on UN peacekeeping operations. This yearbook is the continuation of the journal International Peacekeeping.

Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. officials have been more willing to remind allies that the United States will not play the role of international policeman. Given U.S. reluctance, the job of peacekeeping will fall increasingly to international organizations and regional alliances. In International Peacekeeping Paul Diehl examines the recent record of United Nations peacekeeping forces and develops criteria for assessing their operations. His analysis provides useful guidance for the management of new hostilities in areas such as Central and Eastern Europe, where the dissolution of the Soviet Union has spawned bitter civil wars and dangerous border disputes. Diehl identifies three sets of factors that affect traditional international peacekeeping operations. He begins by discussing the practical concerns of peacekeeping efforts, such as force composition, organization, and deployment. He then examines issues related to the political and military context in which the forces are deployed, including the nature of the conflict and the involvement of third parties. Finally, he considers the authorization by the relevant international body - usually the United Nations - as it relates to the mission's mandate, policies, and financing. He concludes by analyzing the viability of new roles for U.N. peacekeeping troops, such as humanitarian assistance, and by exploring structural alternatives to U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Includes statistics.

Appendix C: UN Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions and Presidential Statements -- UN Security Council Resolutions -- UN General Assembly Resolutions -- UN Security Council Meetings and Presidential Statements -- Bibliography -- Books -- Academic Articles and Opinion -- Index

The Republic of Ireland has won its status as a leading contributor to international peacekeeping operations, which has been its key 'foreign policy' since the 1960s. But why is Ireland so keen to be involved? This new book asks and answers this and other key questions about Ireland's close involvement with the EU. It cannot simply be for charitable reasons, so is it because it is a neutral state or because it is a middle power? Overall, is Ireland's peacekeeping policy based on realism and liberalism? The characteristics of peacekeeping operations have changed significantly, especially since the end of the Cold War. Can Ireland survive as a traditional peacekeeping contributor or does it have to change its peacekeeping policy radically? And will it be able to maintain its distance from NATO and the EU in terms of peacekeeping operations? This title attempts to answer all of these questions, drawing on a wide range of resources from literature, Irish and UN documents, to newspapers and interviews.

Peacekeeping has been the technique most frequently used by, and associated with, the United Nations to end conflicts and to preserve peace. In addition, international and regional organizations have also performed peacekeeping functions. Since the establishment of the first UN peacekeeping mission, UNEF I, in 1956, international lawyers have raised questions about the legal aspects of these operations. Traditionally, they analyzed the constitutional basis for peacekeeping and tried to allocate the authority under the UN Charter for peacekeeping among the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary General. They discussed the use of force by peacekeepers, the applicability of international humanitarian law, as well as the responsibilities and liabilities of peacekeepers. Since the end of the cold war, peacekeeping operations have become more complex. In the first forty years, peacekeepers functioned mainly as buffer zones between warring parties and monitored cease-fires. Nowadays, they are increasingly engaged in internal rather than international conflicts and perform a multitude of tasks. Among others, they act as civilian administrators, oversee elections and monitor human rights. These changes have raised new legal problems. Which human rights obligations exist for peacekeepers? Do peacekeepers have to intervene if they witness war crimes and acts of genocide? How are they protected under international law? What is the legal framework of UN administrations like in Kosovo and East Timor? In order to enhance a better understanding of these legal issues arising from peacekeeping operations, a collection of articles written by the leading experts in the field have been compiled in the volume, International Peacekeeping.