CEVAP:

Peacekeeping emerged as an innovation of the organization to adapt itself to the changing security conditions of international politics. Under the Cold War circumstances, peacekeeping was regarded as the only “realistic operational function” of the organization in maintaining international peace and security (Dogan, 2012: 124). As such, peacekeeping was the UN’s main security activity during the Cold War years.

Peacekeeping involved the deployment of a military force in conflict zones to monitor a ceasefire or patrol a buffer zone between belligerents. All peacekeeping operations during the Cold War, with the exception of the mission to Congo (1960- 1964), were deployed in interstate conflicts based on the consent of conflicting parties as well as on principles such as the non-use of force except for self-defense, political neutrality, and international legitimacy (Diehl, ss.116-117).

Peacekeeping had significant purposes. Its main one was to contain a conflict and prevent it from escalating into a war, especially into a larger systemic war. In this regard, it has been a significant instrument toward maintaining international security. Through its peacekeeping missions, the organization succeeded preventing the interference of the superpowers in conflicts or the escalation of any military confrontation that might have endangered the world order (Dogan, 2012: 125).

Peacebuilding is a more ambitious policy agenda than peacekeeping, because it particularly focuses on intrastate conflicts. It is also a method for the governance of new security issues such as ethnic conflicts or civil wars, whose number has increased since the early 1990s.