Peace Support Operations

Grant Dawson's analysis of political, diplomatic, and military decision making avoids a narrow focus on the shocking offences of a few Canadian soldiers, deftly investigating the broader context of the deployment in Somalia. He shows how media pressure, government optimism about the United Nations, and the Canadian traditions of multilateralism and peacekeeping all helped to determine the level, length, and tenor of the country's operations. His findings will undoubtedly play a seminal role in informing scholarly debate about this important period in Canadian diplomacy and military engagement.

The end of the Cold War was to usher in a new era of international peace and security. Instead, new types of conflicts have emerged and the international community has had to react quickly. New threats to peace have been countered with varying doses of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and, today, peace-building. This newest approach --- peace-building --- recognizes that the sources of violent conflict are complex and that human security and international stability will only be achieved by integrating political, military, and development efforts. Canada and Missions for Peace explores Canada's involvement in recent international efforts to resolve violent conflicts in Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Somalia. It examines the complex interface between foreign policy, international security, and international development. In doing so, this book joins the ever-growing body of scholarship on the new peace-building agenda, offering a unique vantage point. Perhaps it is too early to tell if a concern for international security can be combined with a concern for human security and well-being to form a new peace-building "architecture." The lessons and insight contained in Canada and Missions for Peace, however, will bring this vision into clearer focus.

Is Canada really “a peaceable kingdom” with “an unmilitary people”? Desmond Morton says no. This is a country that has been shaped, divided, and transformed by war – there is no greater influence in Canadian history, recent or remote. Through the Cold War, the Gulf War, and after, Canadians had to make difficult decisions about defence and foreign policy, and these events have shaped the country, developing our industries, changing the role of women, realigning our political factions, and changing Canada’s status in the world.