Un Peace Operations And Asian Security

Based on selected papers from mostly Asian scholars, this book offers regional perspectives from South, Southeast and Northeast Asia on the changing nature of UN Peace Operations. This book was previously published as a special issue of International Peacekeeping.

Peacekeeping and the Asia-Pacific explores the politics, challenges, and future of UN peacekeeping operations from the Asia-Pacific. The first section looks at contributions from the sub-regions: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The second section of the book looks at individual country case studies including: Australia, Solomon Islands, Japan, and Thailand. The third, and concluding, section consists of a theoretical summary on the central conceptual theme of Asian motivations for PKO contributions. This content was originally published in vols. 18:3-4 and 19:3-4 of the Journal of International Peacekeeping.

“I have seen the UN perform on a changing global stage in many UN missions. This book examines how the UN must continue to evolve amongst changing state actors, differing regional organisations and a constant global paradigm shift. It is essential material for enhancing one’s understanding of the nature of international conflict and for the continued relevance of the UN as a key stakeholder and participant in world affairs.”—Maj. Gen. Kristin Lund, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff, UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East (UNTSO) “This outstanding collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the central challenges of peacekeeping today. From big ideas about changes in global order, to more focused analyses of policing and the protection of civilians, this book provides a comprehensive overview of where peacekeeping is now, and what we may expect in the future.”—Lise Morjé Howard, Associate Professor, Georgetown University “The book analyses recent developments in UN peacekeeping in the context of the historic changes underway in the global order. I would recommend it to policy makers, peacekeepers and scholars who wish to understand, optimise and improve the effectiveness of modern peacekeeping.”—Lt. Gen. Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, former Force Commander in the UN missions in the DRC (MONUSCO) and Haiti (MINUSTAH) “Peacekeeping has been the most visible UN activity in its primary mandate to maintain international peace and security. In a world in disarray, as security threats mutate and the world order shifts away from US primacy and fresh challenges arise, the UN must respond with nimbleness and flexibility to stay relevant. This exceptional collection of analyses by experts from both the global North and South will be of interest to practitioners and scholars alike – highly recommended.”—Ramesh Thakur, Professor, Australian National University “Peacekeeping is not what it was even a decade ago: global power is shifting, new types of conflicts are emerging, and demands on the United Nations and regional organizations are growing. Anyone interested in contemporary conflict resolution and the changing character of international peace operations should read this excellent book.”—Roland Paris, Professor of International Affairs, University of Ottawa “This book is an insightful and forward-looking scholarly contribution to debates within the United Nations. It shows how profound the recent changes affecting peace operations are and pushes us all to rethink our assumptions about conflict, peace and the role of international organizations. It could not come at a better moment.”—Jean-Marie Guehenno, UN High-level Advisory Board on Mediation, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations/div This open access book explores how UN peace operations are adapting to four transformational trends in the changing global order: (1) the rebalancing of relations between states of the global North and the global South; (2) the rise of regional organisations as providers of peace; (3) the rise of violent extremism and fundamentalist non-state actors; and (4) increasing demands from non-state actors for greater emphasis on human security. It identifies emerging conflict and peace trends (robustness of responses, rise of non-state threats, cross-state conflicts) and puts them in the context of tectonic shifts in the global order (rise of emerging powers, North–South rebalancing, emergence of regional organisations as providers of peace). The volume stimulates a discussion between practitioners and academics from the global North and South, and offers an analysis of how the international community collectively makes sense of the changing global order and its implications for UN peace operations. /div

This book aims to provide for a path-breaking cross-regional comparison of the capabilities and readiness of Asia-Pacific countries to contribute to peace support missions, with an eye to identifying emerging trends and policy implications.

Focusing on East Asia, this collection explores the paradox of functional regional cooperation in the areas of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and UN Peacekeeping operations, in a context of increasing regional tensions and threats. East Asia – comprising the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – is facing a range of human, traditional, climate and ideational threats. In addressing some of these threats particularly those arising from climate induced disasters this region has been able to develop some ad-hoc cooperative practices that, according to functional logics of regional integration, could lead to longer term sustained coordinated responses and even regional partnerships. Similarly, the region is increasingly contributing to UN peacekeeping operations where these states also cooperate in the context of an UN-led mission. Yet, despite the potential for these interactions to lead to greater regional integration and coordinated action in responding to a range of security threats, these interactions are increasingly taking place in a context of animosity both between regional powers and with extra-regional powers. This edited collection explores these functional interactions and posits conclusions about the potential for longer term sustained coordinated action. These papers engage with a range of theoretical approaches in explaining the patterns of relations that are present in the region in relation to humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and UN peacekeeping operations. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Australian Journal of International Affairs.

Preventing humanitarian atrocities is becoming as important for the United Nations as dealing with inter-state war. In this book, Ramesh Thakur examines the transformation in UN operations, analysing its changing role and structure. He asks why, when and how force may be used and argues that the growing gulf between legality and legitimacy is evidence of an eroded sense of international community. He considers the tension between the US, with its capacity to use force and project power, and the UN, as the centre of the international law enforcement system. He asserts the central importance of the rule of law and of a rules-based order focused on the UN as the foundation of a civilised system of international relations. This book will be of interest to students of the UN and international organisations in politics, law and international relations departments, as well as policymakers in the UN and other NGOs.

What explains China's response to intervention at the UN Security Council? China and Intervention at the UN Security Council argues that status is an overlooked determinant in understanding its decisions, even in the apex cases that are shadowed by a public discourse calling for foreign-imposed regime change in Sudan, Libya, and Syria. It posits that China reconciles its status dilemma as it weighs decisions to intervene: seeking recognition from both its intervention peer groups of great powers and developing states. Understanding the impact and scope conditions of status answers why China has taken certain positions regarding intervention and how these positions were justified. Foreign policy behavior that complies with status, and related social factors like self-image and identity, means that China can select policy options bearing material costs. China and Intervention at the UN Security Council offers a rich study of Chinese foreign policy, going beyond works available in breadth and in depth. It draws on an extensive collection of data, including over two hundred interviews with UN officials and Chinese foreign policy elites, participant observation at UN Headquarters, and a dataset of Chinese-language analysis regarding foreign-imposed regime change and intervention. The book concludes with new perspectives on the malleability of China's core interests, insights about the application of status for cooperation and the implications of the status dilemma for rising powers.

This is an unparallelled analysis of the state of the United Nations peace operations and their impact on Asian security.This new volume examines new strategies being adopted by the UN; including doctrinal shifts in peace operation, and assesses the division of labour between the UN, regional organisation and non-governmental organisations/actors. Based on selected papers from mostly Asian scholars, the book offers regional perspectives from South, Southeast and Northeast Asia on the changing nature of UN Peace operations and analyses some of the core issues that are of critical relevance to regional security in Asia. In addition it reveals interesting new insights on the new players in the area of peace operations – i.e. China and Japan and considers their projected roles as defined by their respective security concepts. It also delves into issues of possible areas of concern caused by the new activism of these regional powers in peace operations. Finally, the book also revisits the significant lessons learnt from the UN experience in Cambodia and East Timor and examines their impact on future directions of peace operations. This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal International Peacekeeping.

Since the end of the Cold War, United Nations peace operations have become an established and prominent feature of world politics. From Liberia to East Timor, the UN now carries out extensive governance-related functions and is a significant political force in Southern states and societies. Here Richard Al-Qaq leads us to a radical new understanding of the UN and its role in international politics. He uncovers the political and socio-economic import of such 'peace' activities for subject societies, and raises important questions about the functioning and dynamics of the global political order. A critical view of the internal process of programmatic reform within the UN is elaborated by detailed studies of the politics of UN peace operations in three seminal cases of the 1990s, in Somalia, Rwanda and Angola. This book is essential for understanding the new role of the UN, especially in Africa, and the politics of so-called humanitarian intervention and peace-building.