Description
While not ignoring the United Nations, editors Daniel (security studies, Georgetown U., US), Taft (The Fund for Peace, US), and Wiharta (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Sweden) go beyond the published literature on current developments in peace operations by having their contributors concentrate on regional and national capacities for peace operations. The first five chapters discuss developments across regions and nations, including the relationship between the United Nations and non-United Nations entities from 1948 to 2005, the characteristics of nations that contribute military troops to missions, the types of combat and support capabilities that are needed to carry out hazardous missions, and trends and prospects in niche capabilities necessary for complex "nation-building" operations. The remaining chapters discuss issues within regions and nations, including the relationship between the African Union and subregional organizations; developments with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; the role of Russia in the Commonwealth of Independent States and other emerging regional bodies; the role of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile in peace operations in Latin America; peace operations on the South Asian subcontinent; and the decline of regional organization peace operations in the Middle East. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read More
Trends in the number and scope of peace operations since 2000 evidence heightened international appreciation for their value in crisis-response and regional stabilization. Peace Operations: Trends, Progress, and Prospects addresses national and institutional capacities to undertake such operations, by going beyond what is available in previously published literature. Part one focuses on developments across regions and countries. It builds on data- gathering projects undertaken at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies (CPASS), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) that offer new information about national contributions to operations and about the organizations through which they make those contributions. The information provides the bases for arriving at unique insights about the characteristics of contributors and about the division of labor between the United Nations and other international entities. Part two looks to trends and prospects within regions and nations. Unlike other studies that focus only on regions with well-established track records—specifically Europe and Africa—this book also looks to the other major areas of the world and poses two questions concerning them: If little or nothing has been done institutionally in a region, why not? What should be expected? This groundbreaking volume will help policymakers and academics understand better the regional and national factors shaping the prospects for peace operations into the next decade.
Read Less