The United Nations, Peace Operations and the Cold War

Peace operations have become, perhaps, the most high profile of the activities undertaken by the United Nations in recent years. The United Nations, Peace Operations and the Cold War provides a unique account of the early development of this project during the critical cold war period.

The concept of peacekeeping first emerged in the UN as a practical response to the challenges presented by the cold war. The ambitious project for the enforcement of collective security first set out in the UN charter proved unworkable in the polarised conditions of the time. Instead, more modestly scaled peace operations developed as a means of stamping out local brushfires worldwide before they spread and grew into major global conflagrations involving the competing superpowers.

This thoroughly revised second edition focuses closely on the international politics of the cold war years, and incorporates recent studies and research to present a comprehensive, up-to-date and informed narrative, offering:

- An examination of peace operations in the pre-United Nations period

- Wide-ranging coverage of the history and geography of regional and global conflicts

- The UNs role in regulating conflicts stemming specifically from decolonisation and its impact on the international state system

- Analysis of the post-cold war status of UN interventionism

Supported by an extensive set of explanatory keys, charts and photographs, The United Nations, Peace Operations and the Cold War will be a vital resource for students.

Norrie MacQueen is currently Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Dundee, and author of a range of books on the UN and peacekeeping including Peacekeeping and the International System (2006), The United Nations: a Beginners Guide (2010), and Humanitarian Intervention and the United Nations (2011).