ABSTRACT
The collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and more importantly of the Soviet Union at the turn of the decade of the 1990s, ushered in a new era of multinational peacekeeping operations. This chapter explores evolution of multinational peacekeeping operations and the conditions under which such operations are likely to be effective. It deals with a discussion of the evolution of peacekeeping as a form of collective action undertaken by nations in their quest for peace and security. The use of military personnel from the major powers or superpowers in peacekeeping forces has nonetheless remained a debatable issue in peacekeeping doctrine. In order to develop an empirical data base on past multinational peacekeeping activities and their consequences, prior peacekeeping missions were screened against several criteria. Drawing on historical documentation, the peacekeeping interventions were coded for the level of force used by peacekeepers in each event.
