STRATEGIC

22 Strategic Choices for a Turbulent World: In Pursuit of Security and Opportunity
Figure 2.3
UN Stabilization Operations, 1946–2013
Number of UN peacekeeping operations
25
20
15
10
5
0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
SOURCE: Human Security Centre, 2005.
RAND RR1631-2.3
the United States and its allies chose not to intervene in the Rwandan
genocide of 1994. Remorse over international failure to act prompted
the United Nations to assign a higher priority to the protection of civilians
in subsequent missions. More than a decade later, in 2005, the
UN General Assembly, meeting at the level of heads of state and government,
endorsed the doctrine of R2P, asserting the authority of the
international community to intervene when states fail to protect their
own populations against mass atrocities. 9 This norm has been slow to
take root, however, as its implementation has been limited in many
cases by opposition from Russia, China, and even the United States.
One example of its successful application is in Côte d’Ivoire. 10
9 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1894, on protection of civilians in armed
conflict, November 11, 2009.
10 In today’s world, numerous social, economic, and security trends are eroding the sovereign
powers of national governments, among them the communication capabilities of information
technologies (for example, the Internet and mobile phones). Yet such countries as China and
Russia seek to promote a norm of “cyber sovereignty”—the ability of state governments to
censor international communication flows. The United Nations mounted a peacekeeping mis-