During the Cold War, the role of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security was marginalized by the intense competition that characterized the superpower rivalry. The United States and Soviet Union fought much of their Cold War on the UN battlefield. From 1947 to 1990, the two countries cast a combined total of 279 vetoes in the Security Council, defeating countless initiatives. Multilateralism had little place in a world dominated by the "zero-sum" realities of the Cold War.
The end of Cold War created new opportunities for the United Nations. The superpower rivalry no longer hampered the actions of the Security Council. Indeed, the United States and Russia began cooperating in efforts to reduce nuclear proliferation and regional conflict. In addition, more countries began looking to the United Nations for leadership and assistance. This created a greater demand for UN intervention abroad.
However, the end of the Cold War also brought a change to the nature of conflict. The threat of international conflict between states was largely replaced by the threat of domestic conflict within states. Indeed, nationalism and ethnic disputes replaced the ideological struggles of the Cold War era. With the notable exception of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, most conflicts in the post-Cold War era involved disputes within countries. And yet, these conflicts took on international dimensions. The conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina are representative of this new era of conflict. In the post-Cold War world, the battlefield is no longer clearly defined, and the distinction between solider and noncombatants has largely disappeared. As a result, this new era of conflict has resulted in death and destruction on an unprecedented scale.
In response to the changing nature of conflict, the United Nations significantly expanded its traditional peacekeeping role. In the past, UN operations were generally limited to traditional peacekeeping operations between states, which consisted primarily of monitoring and confidence-building measures. In contrast, UN operations in the post-Cold War era have been much more aggressive in their response to conflict. They have sought to deter aggression before it occurs. They have also sought to impose peace agreements on warring factions rather than merely support them. In addition, humanitarian concerns have also influenced the deployment of UN operations. As events in Somalia and Bosnia-Herzegovina reveal, however, such missions are difficult and extremely dangerous.
For example, in Somalia, the United Nations undertook a campaign to restore order to a nation that had sunk into virtual anarchy and to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of refugees. Unfortunately, the United Nations discovered the difficulties in mounting peacekeeping operations where large segments of the population simply have no interest in keeping the peace. While the UN operations helped prevent a humanitarian disaster in Somalia, they failed to restore civil order to the country.
The post-Cold War era has brought new challenges and responsibilities to the United Nations. To succeed, the UN must adapt to the new era of conflict. It must also work closely with member states in order to successfully provide international peace and security to all.
By William Aceves
Source: A Global Agenda: Issues Before the 49th General Assembly of the United Nations, (excerpt from Making and Keeping the Peace, by Nick Birnback). Copyright 1994 by the United Nations Association of the United States of America. Published by University Press of America, Inc.
