Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions

The end of the Cold War produced a significant shift in the structure of the international system. It also witnessed an increased use of peacekeeping as a mechanism to deal with conflicts. This increase is often attributed to a supposed “changing nature of conflict,” where intra-state war has become...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Appleton, Abigail
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2015
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613407657590784
access_status_str Open Access
author Appleton, Abigail
author_browse Appleton, Abigail
author_facet Appleton, Abigail
author_sort Appleton, Abigail
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.
description The end of the Cold War produced a significant shift in the structure of the international system. It also witnessed an increased use of peacekeeping as a mechanism to deal with conflicts. This increase is often attributed to a supposed “changing nature of conflict,” where intra-state war has become more common than the classic inter-state war and conflict has become more violent, brutal, and complicated. However, these descriptions leave important aspects of peacekeeping operations unexplained. A better explanation is needed for the international community’s increased intervention in conflicts. This thesis argues that the bipolar international structure of the Cold War placed restrictions on the way United Nations peacekeeping was created and performed. The end of the Cold War and the consequent changes in the international structure explain the shift in peacekeeping that occurred in the 1990s. As the structure of the international system has continued to evolve in the 21st Century, peacekeeping has also shifted. The institution of peacekeeping, itself a response to conflict by the international system, has become what it is because of the changes in the structure of the international system. Any future shift to a bipolar or multipolar structure will again affect the way peacekeeping functions.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1104
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:39.635Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher AUC Knowledge Fountain
publisherStr AUC Knowledge Fountain
record_format dspace
source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1104 Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions Appleton, Abigail The end of the Cold War produced a significant shift in the structure of the international system. It also witnessed an increased use of peacekeeping as a mechanism to deal with conflicts. This increase is often attributed to a supposed “changing nature of conflict,” where intra-state war has become more common than the classic inter-state war and conflict has become more violent, brutal, and complicated. However, these descriptions leave important aspects of peacekeeping operations unexplained. A better explanation is needed for the international community’s increased intervention in conflicts. This thesis argues that the bipolar international structure of the Cold War placed restrictions on the way United Nations peacekeeping was created and performed. The end of the Cold War and the consequent changes in the international structure explain the shift in peacekeeping that occurred in the 1990s. As the structure of the international system has continued to evolve in the 21st Century, peacekeeping has also shifted. The institution of peacekeeping, itself a response to conflict by the international system, has become what it is because of the changes in the structure of the international system. Any future shift to a bipolar or multipolar structure will again affect the way peacekeeping functions. 2015-06-01T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/105 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1104/viewcontent/Polarity_26Peacekeeping.ama.Final.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Peacekeeping United Nations
spellingShingle Peacekeeping
United Nations
Appleton, Abigail
Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title_full Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title_fullStr Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title_full_unstemmed Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title_short Polarity and peacekeeping: The effect of the international structure on United Nations peacekeeping missions
title_sort polarity and peacekeeping the effect of the international structure on united nations peacekeeping missions
topic Peacekeeping
United Nations
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/105
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1104/viewcontent/Polarity_26Peacekeeping.ama.Final.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT appletonabigail polarityandpeacekeepingtheeffectoftheinternationalstructureonunitednationspeacekeepingmissions