Military intervention of the kinds now called for, however, affect Canadians and others more deeply than has been the case since Canada's engagement in World War II and Korea. The study addresses the dynamics and implications of this new and evolving context. Though focused on the role and dynamics of peace operations, the study relates to the context and orientation of defence more broadly, The end of the Cold War has resulted in the diffusion of political authority, the erosion of empire and the loosening of constraints on action by states and groups. It has been accompanied by the eruption and exploitation of historical claims of long-standing ethnic, political, and boundaries issues, aggravated by sharpened resource and economic competition, the emergence of new issues and fault lines, and the proliferation of the means of destruction. There is greater scope and latitude for intervention by third parties and growing pressure for use of the armed forces of democracies to prevent, and counter, violence and dangerous threats to peace, and to protect and rescue vulnerable populations.
Conflicts cause great suffering.
Thirteen of the more than fifty ethnic conflicts now in progress have caused more than 100,000 deaths each, and twenty-five of them, more than 100,000 refugees. Conflicts and the suffering they cause are now covered by media to a far greater extent and with greater immediacy than was the case even ten or even five years ago. Confronted with such suffering, members of the media themselves, and political, church and voluntary groups are able to mobilize opinion in favour of action on the part of national governments and the international community. When it appears that the means to act to prevent further suffering are available, in ready military transportation, relief, medical and combat capabilities, refusing to use them to reduce suffering will often be difficult to sustain politically and morally. Broader notions of human rights, of their ambit and of their application, have emerged, and new principles of and for international security have been developing and gaining adherence.