Over the last few years, and with the collapse
of the bipolar world order, new and complex conflicts have emerged which in
some cases, have ignited into larger and devastating regional wars. In the
very midst of peacekeeping operations for such conflicts, experts claim, the
requirements of peace-building should be considered a priority as well. It
is for this reason therefore that the United Nations, even as it deploys
military and civilian forces in the four corners of the globe, seeks already
to set the foundations for sustainable peace. The task is daunting but the
challenge is impossible to ignore.
Against such a background and even as events
were unfolding in East Timor and Kosovo, the fourth in a series of
prestigious conferences organised on lessons learnt from peacekeeping
operations was held under the auspices of the United Nations Institute for
Training and Research (UNITAR), the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of
Singapore and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA).
Throughout two intense days in Singapore, in November of 1999, an eminent
group academics, government officials, representatives of international
organisations and military scholars gathered behind closed doors to reflect
upon what has been coined the nexus between peacekeeping and peace-building.
This volume contains all the papers
commissioned for that event. It also includes a summary of the many animated
debates that took place during the conference. The broad range of opinions
and perspectives it contains provides insights into a difficult and
important topic, and demonstrates how dangerous it would be for the
international community to ignore it. Four past cases (Angola, Haiti,
Mozambique, and Cambodia) and two ongoing operations (Kosovo and East Timor)
were analysed. The findings should give policy-makers, researchers and
international affairs analysts a candid review and critique of past
experiences that is essential to the comprehension of current peacekeeping
missions and the requirement of peace-building strategies.
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Azimi, Nassrine
and Chang, Li Lin, ed. 2000.
The Nexus Between Peacekeeping And Peace-Building:
Debriefing And Lessons. London: Kluwer Law
International for UNITAR.
(262 pages, ISBN 90-411-1389-4)
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