Prospects for United Nations peacekeeping, lessons from the Congo experience

Abstract

The end of the Cold War has led to the belief that the nature of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping has changed. However, a review of the UN's peacekeeping history demonstrates that the UN has dealt with similar security challenges in the past and that the manner in which the UN has attempted to adapt its peacekeeping instrument to emerging security threats is not new. The UN's operation in the Congo in the 1960s is a case in point. Given the parallels between the UN's operation in the Congo and recent missions, many lessons can be drawn from the Congo crisis which are relevant to today. More importantly, they lead to conclusions about the future prospects for the UN's peacekeeping role.