Nations organized and implemented a sweeping human rights success in forcing Iraqi forces out of Kuwait-only the second such massive international military venture in UN history (the first being the Korean War). The Security Council's newly found unanimity in such a dramatic undertaking raised expectations among the international community that it was the beginning of a new world order in which the United Nations would finally be able to fulfill its peacekeeping and human rights objectives foreseen by its founders in the 1940s.
This optimism swiftly fell into skepticism. Writing a year after Operation Desert Storm, UN General Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali published a report entitled, "An Agenda for Peace," in which he expressed concern about the rapidly changing geopolitical environment. "There is now," he wrote, "a need to supply new answers to unexpected questions . . . History is accelerating . . . the pace is alarming. The direction is not entirely clear" (boutros-Ghali, 1993, pp. 323-332).
Historically, the United Nations had held a rather low profile in international conflicts, being very reluctant to enter a conflict situation for any reason other than a traditional peacekeeping role after the warring parties agreed to a cease-fire and negotiations. And in a bipolar global security arrangement, it was not usually the United Nations that was expected to get involved in international crises. During the Cold War, the UN became involved in only a few peacekeeping missions and even fewer proved successful: Lebanon (1958), the Congo (1960-1964), India-Pakistan (1965), and the Dominican Republic (1965-1966) (Rikhye, 1992, p. 12). In total 15 peacekeeping operations were mounted through 1985.
In the few years since 1985, however, the United Nations has authorized another 15 missions, ranging from the 22,000 troops to assist the transition in Kampuchea to the smaller observer team to monitor human rights abuses in El ...