Un Peacekeeping in Action

The settlement of Namibia's long running conflict remains one of the major successes of the United Nations. Over the course of one year, UN peacekeepers assisted the people of Namibia to gain their independence after years of oppressive South African rule. This book provides an in depth study of the conditions contributing to the UN's success in Namibia and what these reveal about peacekeeping and peace enforcing in other contexts.

A central theme is the relationship between conflict resolution theory and the practice of peacekeeping. Demonstrating that successful peacekeeping is directly related to the way in which a conflict is resolved, the book argues for an explicit role for the peacekeeper, in particular the civilian peacekeeper, in working toward long term conflict resolution. The book explores the variety of conflict resolution strategies used by these personnel which were critical in encouraging reconciliation in the country. A number of failures experienced during the UN operation are also discussed, pointing to the need for fundamental reform to the practice of United Nations peacekeeping.

Roger Hearn