UN AND PEACEKEEPING - THE CURRENT DEBATE

Peacekeeping is facing problems which were not foreseen in the optimis tic climate of the immediate post-Cold War period. A doctrinal void is emerging because the concept has not yet been adapted to changing con ditions of post-Cold War conflicts. There is a mismatch between the pr esuppositions on which the traditional concept of peacekeeping was bas ed and today's situation. The operations during the Cold War era were consensus-based and implemented as a reactive tool in mainly inter-sta te situations, while today's situation is characterized by internal co nflicts, early international involvement, and does not always include the consent of the parties. In addition, the operations have obtained more of a multi-dimentional character that requires more and stronger coordination than the traditional operations. This is a problem the UN has so far been unable to handle effectively. The doctrinal review th at to some extent is being conducted by scholars, civilian and militar y policymakers can atively be categorized by three main approaches: 1) reversion to traditional peacekeeping, i.e. that operations should no t be deployed unless the required conditions for a reasonable chance f or success exist, 2) to expand the relevance of the existing concept b y improving the operational effectiveness and strengthening the politi cal support of these operations, without leaving consent as the basic premise for peacekeeping operations, and 3) develop new concepts and d octrines for operations that occupy the space between the consensus-ba sed traditional operations and enforcement operations. Leaving aside c onceptual approach to peacekeeping, there is a broad recognition of th e need for organizational and administrative reform. Although there is a positive trend in the UN system, the process is slow and difficult, due to institutional inertia and the number of actors with competing interests involved.