The Third Side: Additional Resources for Peacekeepers

Note Regarding External Links on This Page
We are still in the process of converting the "external resource" links from our old computer system to our new one. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming task which, because of limited funds, we are undertaking on a time-available basis. In the meantime, many of these references can be found by using our Search Plus External Links system.

 

Additional Resources for Peacekeepers

Short Examples of Peacekeepers

Longer Case Studies of Peacekeepers and other Third Siders in Action

A number of case studies have been developed to exhibit:

  1. How the third side gets mobilized and becomes active; and
  2. What the most significant barriers to the third side's emergence are, and why these have proven so difficult to overcome.

These case studies are excellent resources for teachers, study groups, or others interested in the role of the peacekeeper (and other third-sider roles) in actual conflict situations.

Additional Case Studies of Peacekeepers in Particular

  • Romeo Dallaire: Peacekeeping in the New Millennium, by Ted Barris. This is a brief biography of Romeo Dallaire, in particular his experiences as commander of peacekeeping forces in Rwanda prior to the outbreak of genocidal violence in 1993-94.
  • "Limitations of UN Peacekeeping Operations Where Conflict Did Not Result in Victory for Any Side: Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone," by Theo Neethling, University of Zimbabwe: Centre for Defense Studies, 2000-11-01. This article assesses the United Nations' response to peacekeeping challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. It discusses the current shortcomings of the U.N. system when operating in "complex emergencies," and specifically in situations where conflict has not resulted in victory for any side. In addition, the authors attempt to shed light on the implications of these shortcomings, in view of the fact that the United Nations is still the international authority with the responsibility for dealing with international peace and security. The United Nations' role in Africa is especially critical in Africa, where the demands for peacekeeping are arguably the greatest. Finally, special attention is given to the Brahimi report.
  • "Crisis and Response in the Central African Republic: A New Trend in African Peacekeeping?" by Mark Malan and Fiona McFarlane, Institute for Security Studies, 1998-01-01. "The aim of this article is to outline the causes and course of the conflict in Central African Republic (CAR), to examine the nature of the rather unusual international response, and to comment on the implications of the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Bangui Accords (MISAB) experience." - From Article
  • "Leaner and Meaner? The Future of Peacekeeping in Africa," by Mark Malan, Institute for Security Studies, 1999-01-01. "This article emphasizes five major trends that, if allowed to continue, will characterize the future of 'peacekeeping' in Africa. These are: a withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the African continent; an increase in robust, but ineffective multilateral military interventions by willing African coalitions, with the blessing of the UN Security Council; the advent of bilateral military interventions; the continuation of a multiplicity of humanitarian assistance activities that are divorced from any overarching political scheme for conflict transformation; and the propagation of African peacekeeping capacity-building initiatives." - From Article
  • "Physical Protection in Practice: International and Regional Peacekeeping in Africa," by Mark Malan, Institute for Security Studies, 2000-01-01. This article presents a brief snapshot of the record of international and regional efforts by peacekeepers to protect civilians in armed conflicts in Angola, Somalia, Rwanda, Zaire, and Liberia. This inevitably begs the question whether or not physical protection is indeed possible within the context of contemporary thinking on peace operations. A brief examination of extant peace support doctrine and practice reveals the need to build on African experiences in articulating a conceptual framework for intervention in African conflicts. A framework that offers the protection of civilian populations rather than the existing paradigm of instrumentalism.
  • "The Development of the International Peacekeeping Regime and the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia," by Derek Sweetman, from the Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Tabula Rasa Institute, 1998-03-01. This article discusses the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the region.

Internet Resources

  • The United Nations Peacekeeping Website - This site is the U.N. portal for all of their peacekeeping operations. It includes links to their basic mission objectives as well as overviews of every mission undertaken since the formation of the United Nations.
  • CRInfo Resources on Peacekeeping - This webpage provides links to hundreds of Web, print, and organizational resources.
  • The United Nations Peacekeeping Website - This site is the U.N. portal for all of their peacekeeping operations. It includes links to their basic mission objectives as well as overviews of every mission undertaken since the formation of the United Nations.
  • Lester B. Pearson Canadian International Peacekeeping Training Centre - "The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre's mission is to support and enhance the Canadian contribution to international peace, security, and stability." - From Website
  • International Peace Academy - IPA is an independent, non-partisan, international organization dedicated to promoting the peaceful settlement of armed conflicts between and within states. IPA works closely with the United Nations, regional and other international organizations, governments, and parties to conflicts.
  • Peace Brigades International - Peace Brigades International (PBI) is a grassroots organization that explores and promotes nonviolent peacekeeping and support for human rights. When invited, PBI sends teams of volunteers into areas of political repression and conflict.
  • Growing Communities for Peace - "We provide free Internet services to charities, including full-featured web hosting and email services... We focus on serving non-religious organizations involved in Education, Environmentalism, Humanitarian Relief, Fighting Disease, Homeless Issues, Crime Control, Political Freedom, Government Reform, Consumer Protection, Youth Issues, Addiction, and other like-minded, non-legislative causes." - From Website

Print Resources

  • Otunnu, O., M. Doyle, eds. (1998). Peacemaking and Peacekeeping for the New Century. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. This is a collection of papers solicited to stimulate debate about key issues concerning the future direction of peacemaking and peacekeeping, reflecting discussions which took place at a special symposium jointly sponsore by IPA (International Peace Academy) and the Government of Austria in March 1995.
  • Shusta, R., D. Levine, and P. Harris (1994). Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society. Prentice Hall.
  • Ury, William (2000). The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. New York: Penguin. - This book discusses the "Third Side" within situations of conflict: the human differences that lead to misunderstandings, disagreement, and conflict.
  • Weber, T. and E. Boulding (1996). Gandhi's Peace Army: The Shanti Sena and Unarmed Peacekeeping. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
  • Moser-Punaguwan, Yeshua and Weber, Thomas, eds. (2000). Nonviolent Intervention Across Borders: A Recurrent Vision. University of Chicago: Chicago. This book provides detailed accounts of the work of Peace Brigades International, Christian Peacemaker Teams, and the Gulf Peace Team, in Latin America, the Balkans, Cyprus, Haiti, and elsewhere. It includes a thoughtful, theoretical essay on the typology of cross-border interventions, by Robert J. Burrowes, and a survery of various attempts, since Ghandhi's "Shanti Sena," to use peace armies to intervene in situations of international conflict, by the editors.
  • Ratner, Steve R. (1995). The New UN Peacekeeping: Building Peace in Lands of Conflict after the Cold War. New York: St. Martin's Press. This work attempts to understand the United Nations' new approach to peacekeeping as it has come to be in the post-Cold War era, namely intervention into war-torn, yet sovereign states. The work views peacekeeping as an instrument of international organization and law. The in-depth analysis compares and contrasts the new approach with the old, outlining the reinvented purposes of peacekeeping. The work includes chapters on specific U.N. peacekeeping missions, Cambodia in particular.

For More Information

Much of the material on this user guide is drawn from www.thirdside.org. Thanks to William Ury and Joshua Weiss for giving us permission to republish their material here.