ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an historical overview of the forms and ways in which the UN was used, or sought to act, during its first several decades to advance that core purpose of preventing war and—when prevention failed—managing armed conflict. It looks at the state of scholarly literature on the nature and drivers of armed conflict following the end of the Cold War, the UN’s experiences during the 1990s of repeated dismal failures in peace and security, and subsequent calls for reform. The report’s renewed emphasis on the UN’s pacific settlement and conflict mediation roles is reflected in the cosmopolitan conception of conflict resolution developed by Ramsbotham et al. In 1988–89, new UN peacekeeping missions were authorized by the Security Council to assist in conflict resolution in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
