Table Of ContentCASUALTIES OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER
Casualties of the
New World Order
The Causes of Failure of UN Missions
to Civil Wars
Michael Wesley
Asia-Australia Institute
University of New South Wales
Sydney
First published in Great Britain 1997 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-40022-5 ISBN 978-0-230-39105-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230391055
First published in the United States of America 1997 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17478-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wesley, Michael, 1968-
Casualties of the new world order: causes of failure of UN
missions to civil wars I Michael Wesley.
p. em.
Based on the author's thesis (doctoral-University of St. Andrews)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-17478-1
l. United Nations-Armed Forces. 2. Civil war. I. Title.
JXI98l.P7W43 1997
341.5'84--dc21 97-3798
CIP
© Michael Wesley 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 978-0-333-68244-9
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
06 05 04 03 02 01 ()() 99 98 97
To my parents
Contents
Preface viii
Glossary X
1 Introduction 1
The Weaknesses in United Nations Missions 2
The Logic of Civil War Conflict Dynamics 15
UN Missions in Civil Wars: A Framework for Analysis 21
2 Mediation 29
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Speaking into a Hurricane 31
El Salvador: A Timely Success 49
Conclusion 62
3 Peacekeeping 66
Handling Scorpions in Somalia 68
Purchasing Peace in Mozambique 81
Conclusion 93
4 Election Monitoring 96
The Angolan Elections: War by Other Means 98
Corralling the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia 109
Conclusion 122
5 Conclusion 125
Notes 133
Bibliography 162
Index 189
vii
Preface
To be beginning to teach, research, and write on International Relations
in the mid-1990s is a daunting task. These are times of great change and
uncertainty in the international system, and yet they are also fascinating.
This does not only result from the ending of the Cold War and the reced
ing of ideological confrontation from international politics. In many ways
the nuclear balance is maturing and becoming less stable at the same time.
For the first time, Western great powers are being joined by other great
powers with different cultural systems and readings of international pol
itics. And while all this is happening, even the sovereign ·state, which
serves as the lodestone of our thinking about international politics faces an
uncertain role and future.
Part of the international scenery at the end of the Cold War was the real
reactivation of the UN. For years it had been a shadowy player, carrying
connotations of irrelevance and faded memories of great power confronta
tions and the speeches of great statesmen. But in the 1990s pictures of
peacekeepers flooded the broadsheets and the UN became a subject of
much conversation and debate. In some ways it was like a return to the
past, but in others it was a vision of the future. Then everything started to
go wrong. Impotence in Bosnia, brutality in Somalia, and prostitution in
Cambodia turned visions of hope into diatribes of condemnation. The UN
learnt once again that being flavour of the month is a very short experience
in international politics.
This book is a study of the reasons why so many UN missions to civil
wars have failed. It sets out to prove, through analysing how and why UN
missions are mounted, that there are common causes for these many fail
ures. Rather than being an inherent failing of the missions, these weak
nesses derive from the misuse of the missions by UN member-states, who
fail to understand civil wars, but dispatch UN missions anyway for cynical
and selfish reasons. While it is a book that looks for weaknesses in UN
missions, it is not intended to be a criticism of the talented people and
brave personnel who mount, support, and carry out these often imposs
ibly difficult tasks. Neither is it a criticism of the representatives of the
member-states in the UN, who are only carrying out the instructions of
often cynical governments. Members of all of these groups of people proved
most generous with their time during the research for this book. If it
blames anything for mission failures, this book blames the structure of the
international system, which causes states to behave as they do.
viii
Preface ix
This book began as a doctoral thesis at the University of St Andrews.
The experience of writing it at an ancient university in a country half a
world away from my own was one of the most formative of my life. This
opportunity would not have been possible but for the encouragement,
help, and support of a number of people. Foremost were Professor Paul
Wilkinson, my supervisor, and also Dr Joanne Wright and Dr Keith Bryett
who encouraged me to take the plunge. Associate Professor Glyn Davis
provided excellent advice, encouragement, and criticism for converting the
thesis into a book. I must also thank my sister Nasim and brother-in-law
Willis for their kindness and support both in London and in Sydney. The
research for this book took me to three continents, and I am extremely
grateful for the hospitality of a number of people: Tony Warren and Kate
Reynolds in Canberra, Mr and Mrs Gil and Janet Galloway in New York,
Mr and Mrs Fred and Naomi Wray in Virginia, Nigel and Josie Ralph in
London, and Cyril and Barbara Wright in Northern Ireland.
For their help and time during my research, I must thank Lieutenant
Colonel Damien Healey ADF, Lieutenant-General John Sanderson ADF,
Sir David Hannay, Mrs Sally Morphett, and Ms Carol Edwards at the FCO,
Ms Rima Bodcosh and the staff at the Dag Hammarskjold Library, Ms
Joan Seymour, Jose da Silva Campino, Lamine Sise, and Michel Pelletier
at United Nations Headquarters, Ms Alex McLeod at the United Nations
Information Centre in London, and the staff at the British Library. Needless
to say, the responsibility for any mistakes in this book is entirely mine.
For providing me with finance during my research I must thank the
CVCP, the University of St Andrews, and the Rotary Foundation for scholar
ships. My thanks also go to my colleagues and friends in the Department,
Deans Court, and St Andrews, who made my years there enriching in ways
other than just academically. I must also thank Professor Stephen FitzGerald,
Mr Larry Strange, and the staff at the Asia-Australia Institute, University
of New South Wales, for their forbearance while I was completing this
manuscript.
This book would have been impossible without the love, confidence,
pride, and wise and caring encouragement and advice of my parents. It is
impossible to express the sustenance their love provided, and the freedom
that their assurances of underwriting me financially gave me during these
years. It is to them, with my love, gratitude, and respect, that this book is
dedicated.
