The enduring legitimacy of UN peace operations

A decade ago, there were some critics ready to predict a downturn in international peace operations. The start of the 21st century had seen a return of peacekeeping from East Timor to Liberia, but critics saw this as a temporary phenomenon. The first Annual Review of Global Peace Operations published in 2006 wasnt the product of one of the skeptics. There is every reason to believe that the demand for effective peacekeeping will rise, not shrink, in the years ahead, it predicted. It shouldnt be a surprise, then, that the latest findings show peace operations continue to surge even as NATO and its alliesincluding Australiawithdraw from Afghanistan. In a world of intractable conflicts and limited good options, peacekeeping is still a valuable strategic tool