Issues and Challenges in Modern Peace Operations

In the last decade, there have been fundamental changes in the nature, form and variety of peace operations. In fact, the very coining of a new term, ‘Peace Operations’ (PO), as distinct from the earlier ‘Peacekeeping Operations’ (PKOs), illustrates a new degree of diversity and complexity in these operations. India has been, and continues to be, a major player in UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs). It has participated in 41 of the 59 UN Missions established so far and has contributed more than 70,000 personnel. India has a current deployment of over 4,000 personnel in 8 of the 16 ongoing peacekeeping operations. This is likely to increase substantially in 2005 with the induction of additional Indian troops in the UN missions in Congo and Sudan. The objective of this paper is to delineate the nature of change in modern peacekeeping operations, identify the current trends and look at future issues and challenges, including some inferences and implications for India.