ABSTRACT
Since the end of the Cold War, peace operations specialists have been highlighting the fluid nature and context of conflicts, and urging comprehensive and integrative solutions in managing and resolving them.1 With issues of governance, democratic legitimacy, social inclusion and economic equity ranking just as high as, if not higher than, traditional military and security priorities, conflict management can no longer be restricted simply to military-based strategies. This truism is highlighted by the immense difficulties confronting the US-led coalition’s rebuilding efforts in post-conflict Afghanistan and Iraq. Conflict management today more often than not involves multiple actors with different mandates, decisionmaking structures, rules of engagement and capabilities. For instance, beginning with the first post-ColdWar major effort in humanitarian intervention, Operation Provide Comfort in Iraq in 1991, institutions and agencies such as the UN, national governments, military forces and NGOs have been working together to address conflicts and humanitarian crises.2 In this respect, conflict management constitutes an ever-widening arena where civilians representing various constituencies and interests are increasingly assuming greater responsibility for a growing list of tasks.
