Analytic Overview of UN Peacekeeping Crisis

The United Nations (UN) peacekeepers constitute the second-largest military force deployed abroad, following the U.S. military.
Personnel total: more than $78,000$ soldiers and $25,000$ civilians across $14$ countries.
Broad mandates: peacekeeping duties include protecting civilians, training police, demobilizing militias, monitoring human rights, organizing elections, rebuilding court systems, and promoting gender equality.
Global context: some $1$ billion people currently live under the threat of violence in nearly $50$ conflict zones.

Despite praise from figures such as Barack Obama, the UN has a "spotty track record" and often fails to address root causes of conflict.
Top-down approach: Missions fixate on deals struck with elites and the organization of elections.
Lack of local engagement: The UN frequently neglects "bottom-up strategies" that utilize local knowledge and allow local populations to determine peace processes.
Resource constraints: A lack of adequate resources is partially responsible for failures, as the UN relies on member state contributions.

Original Charter: The UN Charter (1945) makes no mention of peacekeeping; the capacity was developed ad hoc to meet organizational goals.
Birth of Peacekeeping: Initiated in $1948$ when a mediator in Palestine requested guards to monitor the truce between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Cold War Limitations: East-West rivalry and Security Council vetoes made missions rare; only $13$ were established between $1948$ and $1978$ , and none between $1979$ and $1987$ .
Strategic Examples: - Kashmir ( $1949$ ): Observers monitored cease-fire lines. - Lebanon ( $1978$ ): Lightly armed soldiers positioned themselves between national armies. - 1973 Yom Kippur War: Success in maintaining a cease-fire at the Egyptian-Israeli border (Sinai) but failed at the Israeli-Syrian border (Golan Heights).
Recognition: UN peacekeeping forces were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in $1988$ .