Legions of Peace

'Cunliffe's Legions of Peace is one of the most stimulating works on UN peacekeeping I have read over the last decade. It provides a compelling analysis of UN peacekeeping as a low-risk instrument in the hands of powerful states who sub-contract their security governance role in the unruled world to weaker countries of the Global South. The book will not necessarily resonate well in Western capitals, yet it is a clear and solid contribution to the conceptualisation of peacekeeping and how it relates to international politics.' - Thierry Tardy, Senior Analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies 'This provocative study adds to the historical and still growing consensus on the failures of the "international community" and its various peace interventions, which has failed to fully leave behind old habits or overcome iniquitous power structures.' - Oliver Richmond, Professor of International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Manchester, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute 'Cunliffe offers important insights into the motivations of the "new" peacekeepers of the global south - and the objectives of the big powers who co-opt their services for their own purposes. This is a clear-sighted and engaging investigation which challenges many of the complacent pieties conventionally attached to the peacekeeping role.' - Norrie MacQueen, Honorary Research Fellow, University of St Andrews 'A sweeping but hard-hitting mix of theory, history and smart analysis of contemporary peacekeeping operations, Legions of Peace will stir up controversy and make uncritical advocates of blue helmet missions rethink many of their basic assumptions.' - Richard Gowan, Research Director, NYU Center on International Cooperation