Coalitions of the Willing: Where is the Will?

After a decade of challenges in peacekeeping operations, the United Nations (UN) is in need of greater support from its member nations. The inability of this international organization to stabilize several crises damaged its credibility in exercising one of its primary functions, reducing human suffering. The turning point for the UN came with the successful intervention of a coalition of willing nations, led by Australia, in stabilizing the East Timor crisis. Sanctioned by the Security Council, the operation proved the value of rapid deployment of well-trained and self-sufficient forces in demonstrating international resolve and reducing human suffering. This research project investigates coalitions of the willing. The study considers the global, regional and national causes that compel nation states to contribute forces to coalitions; the characteristics of coalitions; the capacity of nations to provide intervention forces; and, finally the measures that the United Nations are undertaking to improve its rapid-reaction intervention capabilities. The study will argue that coalitions, as organized by capable lead nations, are the preferred instruments for conflict intervention. In those crises when consent of those engaged in the conflict is questionable or in the absence of a lead nation, non-state actors such as the United Nations must have the capacity to react in a timely and effective manner.