Book Reviews : From Cold War to Hot Peace: UN Intervention 1947-94 by Anthony Parsons. London: Michael Joseph, 1995. £16.99. 278pp
| Published date | 01 December 1995 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711789501200605 |
| Author | Alan James |
| Date | 01 December 1995 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
BOOK
REVIEWS
From
Cold
War
to
Hot
Peace:
UN
Intervention
1947-94
by
Anthony
Parsons.
London:
Michael
Joseph,
1995.
£16.99.
278pp.
This
work
examines,
by
way
of
narratives
and
commentaries,
the
UN’s
handling
of
the
variety
of
conflicts
which
have been
placed
or
thrust
in
its
lap.
The
author’s
fluent
writing
is
well
leavened
with
trenchant
observations
and
personal
reminiscence,
the
latter
often
deriving
from
his
two
stints
at
Britain’s
mission
to
the
United
Nations.
Moreover,
he
has
a
keen
eye
for
the
ironical
and
the
ridiculous,
plenty
of
instances
of
which
came
his
way
during
the
course
of
a
long
diplomatic
career.
Thus
his
book
is
not
just
reliable
but
also
very
enjoyable -
and,
it
should
perhaps
be
said,
is
in
no
way
a
vehicle
for
the
justification
either
of
his
own
conduct
or
of
British
policy.
Even
the
best-informed
people
will
benefit
from
reading
it,
but
the
book’s
lack
of
technicalities
and
its
robust
common
sense
also
make
it
extremely
suitable
for
those
who
are
unfamiliar
with
the
United
Nations.
Although
it
is
quite
modestly
priced,
it
is
to
be
hoped
(with
students
particularly
in
mind)
that
a
paperback
edition
will
soon
appear.
One
of
the
strengths
of
the
book
is
its
emphasis
that
the
UN’s
peacekeeping
activity
is
quite
distinct
from
enforcement.
The
latter,
at
whatever
level
of force,
’means
taking
sides’.
Whether
the
United
Nations
is
prepared
to
undertake
or
to
authorize
that
’is
conditioned
not
so
much
by
the
gravity
of
the
act
[of aggression]
itself but
by
the
interna-
tional
standing
and
alliances
of
the
victim,
and
of
the
aggressor’.
It
is
not
often
that
the
United
Nations
has
adopted
a
tough
approach,
and
of
the
lesser
and
now
very
popular
measure
of
mandatory
economic
sanctions,
the
author
is
understandably
sceptical.
Peacekeeping,
by
contrast,
involves
helping
the
parties
to
get
out
of
or
live
with
some
kind
of
mess,
the
UN’s
role
in
this
respect
sometimes
having
entailed
the
provision
of
a
’ladder
down
which
the
two
superpowers
were
only
too
ready
to
climb’.
The
book
offers
much
testimony
to
the
value
of
this
sort
of
impartial
and
non-threatening
device -
but,
in
accord
with
its
nature,
it
works
only
when
the
parties
are
ready
to
use
it.
Of
course,
its
use
is
no
guarantee
that
the
problem
in
question
will
ultimately
be
solved,
but
that
is
not
necessarily
the
object
of
peacekeeping.
Nor
is
the
establishment
of
a
peacekeeping
body
even
a
guarantee
that
its
lines
will
not
be
violated.
The
way
in
which
the
Israeli
army
swept
through
the
small
UN
force
in
South
Lebanon
in
1982 -
when
Parsons’
’distinguished
Arab
colleagues
[at
the
UN]
took
little
trouble
to
conceal
their
glee
at
the
sight
of
the
PLO
receiving
its
comeuppance’ -
is
a
reminder
of
that.
But
nonetheless
the
presence
of
a
lightly-armed
peacekeeping
force
can
con-
tribute
most
usefully
to
the
restoration
or
maintenance
of
calm.
And
the
author
refutes
(with,
in
this
reviewer’s
judgment,
entire
cogency)
the
frequently-encountered
claim
that
in
the
case
of
Cyprus,
the
UN’s
peacekeeping
body
actually
obstructs
a
settlement.
’If
the
idea
is
that,
without
a
buffer
between
them,
the
parties
would
have
to
face
reality
and
come
to
their
senses,
it
is
nonsense.
The
Greek
and
Turkish
Cypriots
have
com-
prehensively
demonstrated
that,
if
left
alone,
they
will
enthusiastically
fall
on
each
other,
regardless
of
the
consequences.’
Parsons
argues,
contrary
to
a
common
view,
that
the
end
of
the
Cold
War
has
not
increased
the
effectiveness
of
the
United
Nations.
The
Security
Council
has
indeed
been
much
busier,
and
there
has
been
an
upsurge
in
the
number
of
peacekeeping
operations.
Both
phenomena
reflect
the
willingness
of
the
major
powers
to
cooperate
with
each
other.
But
so
far
as
’the
world
of
reality’
is
concerned,
the
author
doubts
whether
there
has
been
a
fundamental
change.
The
’same
premises
govern
today’s
operations
as
governed
those
of
the
past.
The
difference
is
quantitative
and
horizontally
extended
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