UN Peacekeeping: Japanese and American Perspectives
by By Harrison, Selig S. (EDT)
Category: Political Science , General

For the past four decades, the United Nations has played a significant peacekeeping role based on the consent of the warring parties in Cyprus, the Golan Heights, the Congo, and other flashpoints of conflict. But the UN role in maintaining world order has been redefined and broadened in recent years to embrace peace-enforcement efforts with or without the consent of the antagonists, often in combination with traditional peacekeeping.This dramatic change has provoked growing controversy both in the United States, hitherto the largest financial supporter of UN peacekeeping, and in Japan, where advocates of a larger Japanese global role are promoting expanded Japanese participation in UN peacekeeping missions.UN Peacekeeping: Japanese and American Perspectives is the product of a research project co-sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and the Research Institute for Peace and Security in Tokyo. Eight American and Japanese specialists present contrasting perspectives on such issues as the criteria that should govern UN intervention in future conflicts; the desirability and feasibility of combining peacekeeping and peace enforcement; the limitations imposed by international law on UN intervention; the record of UN intervention in key arenas of conflict, including Cambodia, where Japan has played a major role; domestic attitudes toward UN peacekeeping in both countries; and the potential for Japanese-American cooperation in UN peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peace enforcement.