An Anatomy of Peace-Making

Abstract

Beyond the National Interest: The Future of UN Peacekeeping and Multilateralism in an Era of U.S. Primacy. By Jean-Marc Coicaud. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007. 297 pp., $19.95 (ISBN-13: 978-1-60127-007-8). The International Committee of the Red Cross: A Neutral Humanitarian Actor. By David P. Forsythe, Barbara Ann J. Rieffer-Flanagan London: Routledge, 2007. 122 pp., $30.95 (ISBN-13: 978-0-415-34151-6). The United States and the Security Council: Collective Security since the Cold War. By Brian Frederking, London: Routledge, 2007. 197 pp., $140.00 (ISBN-13: 978-0-415-77076-7). Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone: The Story of UNAMSIL. By ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2008. 203 pp., $18.95 (ISBN-13: 978-1-588-26521-0). Friends Indeed? The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict. By Teresa Whitfield. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007. 428 pp., $19.95 (ISBN-13: 978-1-60127-005-4). An anatomy of peace-making illustrates several methods, both formal and informal, to resolve conflict. The books reviewed herein illustrate the varied methods used by the international community to bring peace to war-torn states. Each book offers a different perspective on the challenges to making peace in the international system. The books of Jean-Marc Coicaud and Brian Frederking highlight the nature of collective security since the end of the Cold War. Coicaud focuses specifically on the role of the United Nations, while Frederking focuses more on US foreign policy. Next, ‘Funmi Olonisakin offers a case study in peace-making by telling us the story of the UN's attempt to bring peace to Sierra Leone. Teresa Whitfield focuses on the concept of “Friends” used in the initial post-Cold War period to settle conflicts in such as places as El Salvador, Guatemala, and East Timor. Finally, David P. Forsythe and Barbara Ann J. Rieffer-Flanagan offer a discussion of the role of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), highlighting the organization's contribution to human rights law and the easing of human suffering in times of conflict. Together, these books offer an anatomy of peace-making in the international system since the end of the Cold War. Let us take each in turn. In Beyond the National Interest , Jean-Marc Coicaud sets out to identify how and why the international community failed to keep the peace in the post-Cold War era. Specifically looking at the 1990s, the author frames the discussion in terms of an “era of US primacy.” Coicaud argues that the US and the world in general missed an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations following the end of the ideological, geopolitical split that was the Cold War. For the author, this amounts to a failure of international solidarity. Coicaud sets …