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 that the United Nations, even as it deploys military and civilian forces in the four corners of the globe, seeks to set the foundations for sustainable peace. The task is daunting but the challenge 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 of 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 for the comprehension of current peacekeeping missions and the requirement of peace-building strategies.