Significant Changes in UN's Activities from 1948 till Today
From Peace-Keeping to PeaceEnforcement to
Peace-Building
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OF THE UN ACTIVITY FROM 1948
UNTIL TODAY
List of Contents
1.
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
2.
Traditional peace-keeping during the cold war ............................................................... 2
3.
Peace-enforcement after 1990 ....................................................................................... 3
4.
Peace-building in the present ......................................................................................... 5
5.
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 6
1
1. Introduction
According to former UN (United Nations) Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali UN
Peace-keeping “stands out as one of the Organization’s most original and ambitious undertakings in its efforts to control conflict and promote peace.”1 The UN sees their peacekeeping operations as the most efficient instrument to provide peace in conflict regions. In the course of its history, the UN has undergone significant changes in their peace-keeping mechanisms and doctrine. The non-existence of a formal definition of peace-keeping, allowed the concept to change and the operating missions to adjust to the respective conflicts. The essay examines those alterations, starting in 1948 with the observing of the situation in the
Near East, until the recent intervention in Mali.
The development of peace-keeping can be divided into three phase until today. The first one is traditional peace-keeping that lasted from 1948 until around 1988. The period after the end of the cold war is referred to as the second phase and is determined by multi-dimensional peace missions. This phase is also known for the UN’s struggle in the “grey zone” between peace-keeping and
Peace-Building
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OF THE UN ACTIVITY FROM 1948
UNTIL TODAY
List of Contents
1.
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
2.
Traditional peace-keeping during the cold war ............................................................... 2
3.
Peace-enforcement after 1990 ....................................................................................... 3
4.
Peace-building in the present ......................................................................................... 5
5.
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 6
1
1. Introduction
According to former UN (United Nations) Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali UN
Peace-keeping “stands out as one of the Organization’s most original and ambitious undertakings in its efforts to control conflict and promote peace.”1 The UN sees their peacekeeping operations as the most efficient instrument to provide peace in conflict regions. In the course of its history, the UN has undergone significant changes in their peace-keeping mechanisms and doctrine. The non-existence of a formal definition of peace-keeping, allowed the concept to change and the operating missions to adjust to the respective conflicts. The essay examines those alterations, starting in 1948 with the observing of the situation in the
Near East, until the recent intervention in Mali.
The development of peace-keeping can be divided into three phase until today. The first one is traditional peace-keeping that lasted from 1948 until around 1988. The period after the end of the cold war is referred to as the second phase and is determined by multi-dimensional peace missions. This phase is also known for the UN’s struggle in the “grey zone” between peace-keeping and