ABSTRACT
Although some of the practices associated with peacekeeping are as old as international politics, it is only in the twentieth century that peacekeeping has developed into a formal, regular mechanism for promoting international peace and security. The institution of peacekeeping is directly connected with international organizations, specifically the United Nations. The Covenant of the League of Nations contained the potential for peacekeeping, but the only international force created by the League (in 1934) was a force of 3300 soldiers from Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden whose purpose was to ensure that the Saar plebescite would take place without disorder.1 This was the first international contingent created by an international organization, but the League failed to build upon that precedent.
