Sutterlin gives an insider's assessment of how the United Nations can meet the new challenges of the post-Cold War era. Preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and peace-building are all examined, along with other means of maintaining peace. This is the first authoritative book on the security role of the UN to take account of the experiences in Bosnia and Somalia and to discuss the use of military force by the UN to control internal conflict.

This book examines the principal security functions of the United Nations in the changed conditions of the post-Cold War era. The main purpose of the UN under its Charter is the maintenance of international peace and security. Sutterlin begins with the premise that it is necessary to understand the meaning of international security in much broader terms now than was the case when the UN was founded. If conflict is to be prevented or resolved at present and, most likely, in the future, this means dealing with tensions within states more than between states. The UN has had to break new ground as it has intervened in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Somalia.

Sutterlin describes the background of the innovations that history has imposed on the UN, and he analyzes such specific approaches as peacekeeping and peace-building. In addition, based on his extensive experience within the UN, Sutterlin makes numerous suggestions as to how the potential of the UN can be more fully realized. This volume will be of great value to scholars and others concerned with the changing role of the UN and international security issues of the late 20th century.