New Un Peacekeeping: Building Peace in Lands of Conflict After the Cold War

Ratner's book comes in four parts. Sections one and two present a quick but complete history of UN peacekeeping operations and the conceptual framework that produced them. The third gives a detailed analysis of the UN's effort to bring peace and stability to Cambodia in the early 1990s after decades of conflict. The last section offers a brief but insightful examination of the potential problems and opportunities for future UN peacekeeping missions.Ratner is neither a blind advocate of unchecked UN intervention nor a partisan 'UN basher' that believes the UN is incapable of bringing some benefits to those nations wanting assistance. He provides a set of fair and well-reasoned standards for evaluating the success of UN peacekeeping operations. He then applies those standards and lets the chips fall where they may.The book finds a perfect middle ground between dense scholarly writing and compelling narrative. Thus, the book should appeal to both academics investigating UN peacekeeping operations and the general reader just wishing to know more about those folks who wear the blue helmets.