ABSTRACT
As once observed by one of the first historians of the concept, a UN ‘Legion’ did not spring fully armed from the brain of the first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, it could ‘boast a long and distinguished lineage revealing myriad variations determined by differences of epoch and environment’.1 In view of its remarkable fighting record, but also because it was a homogeneous force under a single command, the French Foreign Legion had long been seen as an example worthy of serious consideration to organize an international police force. The history of the idea of an international, permanent, directly recruited, military force is also deeply rooted in the Second World War and the period immediately preceding it. While the agony of the League of Nations provoked renewed thinking on ways to effectively implement collective security, the creation of the UN in 1945 was a powerful catalyst for a new series of proposals. Soon, the failure of the brand new institution to draw appropriate lessons by availing itself with appropriate military means on a permanent basis provided a basis for reinventing the old idea.
