Putting the Peace Back into Peacekeeping: Theory Must Inform Practice

The over‐taxed ad hoc system of peacekeeping does not meet the demands posed by the post‐cold war world. This is apparent in the problems besetting a number of peacekeeping missions around the globe. What is far less obvious is how to change the system so that it is better equipped to deal with the range of ongoing violent protracted conflicts. This article argues that peacekeeping needs to be placed on a firm conceptual footing directly congruent with its peaceful third party role. The implications of this conceptualization of peacekeeping for practice are then discussed. Finally, training is cited as a key means of translating conceptual understanding into practice. Without this foundation work, the myriad proposals for UN and peacekeeping reform and reorganization have little chance of making a positive impact on the existing, and largely ineffective, system of conflict management.