BEYOND PEACEKEEPING - SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF POST-COLD-WAR INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING

The article examines the evolution of UN peacekeeping since the late 1 980s and cautions against the tendency to dismiss the experience of UN field operations before 1988 as irrelevant to the contemporary contex t. It explores the debate on peacekeeping doctrine that has taken plac e in recent years and specifically rejects the view that there is an a rea of military activity between 'classic' peacekeeping and traditiona l war-fighting doctrines. As such, the article reaffirms the importanc e of distinguishing between peacekeeping and enforcement as two fundam entally different kinds of activities. Although the author rejects the notion of a 'middle ground', he does accept that consent in civil war s can never be absolute. It is, however, the conscious promotion of co nsent at the tactical level, through impartial operational techniques and adherence to the principle of minimum use of force, which still se parates peacekeeping from enforcement. The article also examines vario us problems associated with the 'higher management' of UN peacekeeping operations. It concludes with some broader reflections on the future of UN operations. The author considers it unlikely that peacekeeping w ill remain the kind of 'growth industry' envisaged by the Secretary-Ge neral in 1992.