Monograph 8: Multi-Functional Peace Support Operations: Evolution and Challenges, Edited by Virginia Gamba and Jakkie Potgieter
On 10
September 1996, the South African National Defence Force, in conjunction
with the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, undertook a
two week long peacekeeping training exercise in Pretoria, entitled
`Morning Star`. This monograph must be seen as a continuation of discussions which occurred as a consequence of exercise `Morning Star`.
Part I of this monograph relates to a highly complex concept,
one dealt with repeatedly by speakers and the public during the
above-mentioned exercise: that of the differences between peacekeeping,
peace enforcement, and enforcement operations undertaken by the UN in
the past. As a result of this debate, a need has emerged to reach
clarity on the evolution of the various peacekeeping concepts, as
accepted by the international community, as well as on the different
tasks that peacekeepers undertake in the field. This part attempts to
assist in the understanding of how prevalent concepts and doctrines
related to multifunctional peace support operations have evolved into
their present form.
Part II, a revised version of the paper presented by the authors
at the peacekeeping training exercise, refers to the challenges and
difficulties experienced today in the implementation of multifunctional
peace support operations. As Part I deals with the context in which the
multifunctional peace support operation debate occurs, so Part II deals
with the challenges and difficulties that emerge in the deployment of
contemporary multifunctional peace support operations.
This monograph is the first in a series and forms part of an
intellectual contribution that the ISS is making to the discussion of
regional peacekeeping in Africa. It will be followed by a book which
will specify the challenges to multifunctional peace operations, the
training required for undertaking such operations, and a possible
African peacekeeping structure for the immediate future. Discussions on
regional peacekeeping, nevertheless, require an understanding of the
evolution of international concepts, and of the difficulties associated
with multifunctional peace support operations today. This is the purpose
of the present monograph.
