ABSTRACT
This chapter presents evidence to show that the record of UN multidisciplinary operations, in the aftermath of the Cold War, in assisting countries at low level of development to move from civil war or other interstate conflict into a path of peace, stability, and prosperity, is indeed bleak. It presents aid data to indicate the degree of aid dependency of many of countries and presents the rankings of countries in a series of global indices to show the poor state of affairs. The chapter also presents case studies on the 21 UN operations that focus mostly on the political, security, and/or social aspects of the transition, and address the economic aspects that have affected peacebuilding efforts. The three most aid-dependent countries – Afghanistan, Liberia, and Mozambique – together with seven more in which the UN has provided long and expensive support over long periods of time are among the 25 worst performers in the Human Development Index (HDI).
