The UN at War: Peace Operations in a New Era

Description

This book is a critical political and institutional reflection on UN peace operations. It provides constructive suggestions as to how the UN and the international system can evolve to remain relevant and tackle the peace and security challenges of the 21stcentury, without abandoning the principles that the UN was founded upon and on which the legitimacy of UN peace operations rests. The author analyses the evolving politics on UN peace operations of the five veto powers of the UN Security Council, as well as major troop-contributing countries and western powers. He investigates the move towards peace enforcement and counter-terrorism, and what consequences this development may have for the UN. Karlsrud issues a challenge to practitioners and politicians to make sure that the calls for reform are anchored in a desire to improve the lives of people suffering in conflicts on the ground—and not spurred by intra-organizational turf battles or solely the narrow self-interests of member states. Finally, he asks how the UN can adapt its practices to become more field- and people-centered, in line with its core, primary commitments of protecting and serving people in need. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Introduction (John Karlsrud)....Pages 1-9 Chapter 1 UN Peace Operations in a Changing World (John Karlsrud)....Pages 11-31 Chapter 2 The Evolving Politics of UN Peace Operations (John Karlsrud)....Pages 33-57 Chapter 3 New Capabilities, Tools, and Technologies (John Karlsrud)....Pages 59-82 Chapter 4 UN Stabilization Operations, Violent Extremism, and Counter-Terrorism (John Karlsrud)....Pages 83-109 Chapter 5 Competition or Burden-Sharing? UN and Regional Peace Operations in Africa (John Karlsrud)....Pages 111-135 Chapter 6 People-Centered Reform at the UN? UN Peace Operations at a Crossroads (John Karlsrud)....Pages 137-158 Chapter 7 Serving the People (John Karlsrud)....Pages 159-169 Back Matter ....Pages 171-204