ABSTRACT
The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), failed to protect Bosnian civilians is known. Until March 1999, that is one year into the conflict, the Bosnian war seemed to repeat itself. Key questions regarding the 1990s' interventions into complex emergencies, including early responses to the crises in Kosovo and in East Timor remain open. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines four important post Cold-War interventions launched on behalf of people on the move: international action in Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda. It suggests an alternative understanding of the nature of international protection. As far as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were concerned, protection was a means to an end, a tool of containment policies. It is time to clarify what has been hidden by the myth that international presence enhanced civilian protection.
