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The United Nations peacekeeping operations started in 1948 with its first mission in the Middle East. Since then, for half a century, 52 missions have been initiated, which 16 are still active. We all remember several landmark peacekeeping missions that influenced and shaped the evolution of peacekeeping: Congo in 1961 where then Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold met his tragic death; Cambodia in 1992, Somalia in 1993, Rwanda in 1994, Bosnia in 1995, Kosovo and East Timor in 1999, and Sierra Leone and Congo(DRC) in the year 2000.
How has UN peacekeeping evolved during the half century since its inception? And where do we go from here?
To address these questions, let me start by outlining four different stages in the evolution of peacekeeping, divided roughly around the years 1988, 1993, and 1999, respectively.
● In 1988, UN peacekeeping received the Nobel Peace Prize. At the time, there were only 5 operations with 10,000 troops on the field, working with an annual budget of $230 million. During the 40 years since the very first mission in 1948, only 13 missions were sent to the field. The nature of the activities remained relatively unchanged during this period.
● Then suddenly, peacekeeping operations exploded in number as well as in magnitude in the early 90s. In 1993, it peaked with 18 operations, 80,000 troops on the field and a $3.6 billion annual budget. During the ten years between 1988 and 1999, the UN established 39 missions. Considering there were only 13 during its first forty years, this represented more than a ten fold increase. A separate department was created in the UN Secretariat in 1991 to more effectively manage the increased activities.
● But as the numbers increased, peacekeeping also began to encounter problems. The failure in highly publicized missions such as Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia revealed the limitations of peacekeeping operations. And as public opinion turned its back, peacekeeping activity began a downward spiral. By the end of February 1999, only 14 missions remained, the largest one being UNIFIL in South Lebanon with 4,500 troops. It was a clear retreat from the heyday of peacekeeping in the early 1990s. There was even talk of ending peacekeeping.
● Since then, changes in the international situation once more began to call for large and complex missions. Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are some examples of the latest peacekeeping missions. We have also seen the expansion of the operation in Sierra Leone. Currently, there are 16 missions, involving not only military but civilian police as well as civil administration.
How do we interpret this evolution? We can form in our minds three questions: why was there a sudden demand for peacekeeping operations in the early 1990s; what caused the setback in the mid-90s, and finally what are the factors that are bringing about the resurgence of peacekeeping today?
Expansion of Peacekeeping
Setbacks in Peacekeeping
What Caused These Missions to Fail?
Resurgence of Peacekeeping
Cooperation with Regional Arrangements
Advent of Multi-dimensional Operations
Future of Peacekeeping
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