Peacekeeping Operations and the Quest for Peace

The problem of war has plagued international society for centuries. As increasing interdependence fostered international organizations, the world community has attempted to respond to violence in a collective manner with a variety of different approaches. Today, international organizations have come to regard preventive diplomacy, or as it is more popularly known, peacekeeping, as their primary alternative in settling international disputes. Nevertheless, international organizations have not always relied on peacekeeping to redress conflict nor was it the intention of their founders to employ such a strategy. Although there are examples of multilateral intervention in conflict prior to the twentieth century, the first comprehensive effort to address security concerns by an international organization only dates back to the League of Nations in 1920. The League provided for a collective security system, whereby an act of war would bring political, economic, and possibly military sanctions against the aggressor. I The failure of the system, culminating in World War II, was foreshadowed by the League's ineffectiveness in Manchuria and Ethiopia. Although faith in a collective security arrangement was shaken, this strategy for peace was not abandoned by the framers of the United Nations Charter. Article 43 of the Charter provides for members' contributions to supply armed forces in the conduct of collective security actions. Following other attempts at halting conflict, such as economic sanctions, collective security was to be the centerpiece