a guide to peace support operations - The Watson Institute for ...

PREFACE
WHY WE NEED A GUIDE
The word “peacekeeping” took on a new meaning in the 1950s. It described the
UN’s earliest attempts to contain conflict by peaceful means that were known as
peacekeeping. After several decades, peacekeeping activities took on a greater diversity
and began to involve larger and more powerful forces, including greater numbers
of nonmilitary organizations. Terms like “peace building,” “peacemaking,” and “peace
enforcement” were added to the language of the peacekeepers to describe each additional
category of response. “Peace Support Operations” (PSO) describes the operations
and activities of all civil and military organizations deployed to restore
peace and/or relieve human suffering. Peace support operations may include diplomatic
actions, traditional peacekeeping, and the more forceful military actions required
to establish peaceful conditions.
In this context, a multinational response comprises several elements, including
humanitarian, military, civil administration, and infrastructure development agencies
and teams of political negotiators. The civil and military assets for peace support
operations can be provided by different sources: collectively by the UN and regional
organizations, or individually by nations and nongovernmental organizations. Although
divided by outlook, status, and political orientation, each element involved
in a PSO is, or should be, working toward the same long-term outcome.
This guide is for all who are involved in these international efforts to establish
peace and relieve human suffering. It is a common reference for military staff officers,
government officials, and civil aid workers in emergency relief organizations. Its
purpose is to promote a better understanding of each other’s organization and function.
It has two objectives: first to give military staff and civilian executives a working
outline of the characteristics, role, modus operandi, and limitations of all the
elements in the operational area; and second to explain the existing structures for
cooperation between the agencies in a UN force at the operational level. The military
sections also provide the basis for a common concept of operations for contingents
from different nations that may otherwise have differing approaches. The guide is an
independently created information resource. It does not represent the official views
of any single organization. Although the authors are serving officials and staff officers
in most cases, they are writing here in a private capacity as leading experts in their
particular fields. For this reason the guide has been able to address issues in a style
that is not constrained by the official position of nations and institutions. It is intended
to be used as an up-to-date resource that can be adapted to individual needs
of all the involved parties. It is published in English, Russian, and Spanish.
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