Abstract
By the mid-1990s the demands and perils of “second generation” peacekeeping missions threatened to overwhelm the United Nations. Lacking the necessary institutional capabilities, unable to muster the political will of members, and reeling from failed missions in Africa and Yugoslavia, the Secretary-General issued a call for regional organizations to assume a larger role in peace operations. Invoking the Charter’s Chapter VIII mandate for regional organizations to contribute to peace enforcement, he envisaged a division of labor based on a capability—legitimacy relationship—regional organizations providing the manpower and the UN providing legitimacy by retaining its sole authority to sanction any use of force. Indeed, from the mid-1990s onward, the number of UN peace operations and associated personnel dropped dramatically with a corresponding rise in the number and level of non-UN missions.
The author acknowledges the research assistance of Robert Hartfiel. This research and writing is supported by the SSHRC and the Security and Defense Forum program of the Centre of International Relations, UBC. The views expressed are those of the author.
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Notes
Michael Barnett, “Partners in Peace? The UN, Regional Organizations, and Peace-Keeping,” Review of International Studies 21 (4) (1995): 411.
See also Mary McKenzie, “The UN and Regional Organizations,” in The United Nations and Human Security, eds. Edward Newman and Oliver P. Richmond ( London: Palgrave, 2001 ), 153–55.
See Trevor Findlay, The Use of Force in UN Peace Operations ( Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 ).
David Malone and Karin Wermester, “Boom and Bust? The Changing Nature of UN Peacekeeping,” in Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century, eds. Adekye Adebajo and Chandra Lekha Sriram (London: Frank Cass, 2001 ), 39.
See Brian Job, “Alliances’ and Regional Security Developments: The Role of Regional Arrangements in the United Nations’ Promotion of Peace and Stability,” in New Millennium, New Perspectives: The United Nations, Security, and Governance, eds. Ramesh Thakur and Edward Newman (Tokyo: The UN University Press, 2000 ), 126–127
See Adekeye Adebajo and Chris Landsberg, “Back to the Future: UN Peacekeeping in Africa,” in Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century eds. Adekeye Adebajo and Chandra Lekha Sriram (London: Frank Cass, 2001 ).
See Allan Dupont, “ASEAN’s Response to the East Timor Crisis,” Australian Journal of International Affairs 54 (2) (2000): 163–70.
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© 2004 Richard M. Price and Mark W. Zacher, eds.
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Job, B.L. (2004). The UN, Regional Organizations, and Regional Conflict: Is There a Viable Role for the Un?. In: Price, R.M., Zacher, M.W. (eds) The United Nations and Global Security. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980908_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980908_14
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