ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights some of the dilemmas which the UN faced as a consequence of the emergence of ‘peacemaking’ as one of its tasks. It addresses the meaning of ‘peacemaking’ and the way in which it surfaced in the complicated vocabulary of peacekeeping. The chapter argues that it is based on a somewhat different conception of ‘peace’ from that which underpins classical ideas of peacekeeping, and one which is intrinsically more difficult to realise in a practical political context. It examines some of the dilemmas faced by the UN in undertaking the task of peacemaking and explores the limitations on what can be achieved through international and internal peacemaking. In recent years, UN peacemaking has gone beyond low-level mediation between states in conflict, and now involves a more thoroughgoing commitment to address the basic problems of political organisation within member states.
