Peacemonger - Hardcover

"[An] excellent account of the brief golden age of peacekeeping." -- Martin Woollacott, Guardian "Goulding kept meticulous diaries throughout his time at the UN and he has used them well to provide what is perhaps the most detailed and incisive insider's account of how that bizarre but necessary organization works... Peacemonger is an invaluable account of how the end of the Cold War eradicated all the comfortable nostrums on which 40 years of diplomacy had been based. His book will be essential for anyone seeking to understand how that long-suffering icon, the international community, actually works -- or does not." -- William Shawcross, Times of London " An excellent account of the brief golden age of peacekeeping." -- Martin Woollacott, Guardian "A frank and perceptive account of what it was like to be at the heart of the UN at a time when its role in international relations was expanding at an astonishing pace... The core of this book is its account of the [UN's] individual peacekeeping operations. Never before has a UN official surveyed this aspect of the UN's work in such detail or with such style and distinction. Goulding is intellectually rigorous, always asking what the purposes of particular missions are, whether they can be realized, and what lessons might be drawn from them." -- Adam Roberts, Times Literary Supplement Goulding kept meticulous diaries throughout his time at the UN and he has used them well to provide what is perhaps the most detailed and incisive insider's account of how that bizarre but necessary organization works... Peacemonger is an invaluable account of how the end of the Cold War eradicated all the comfortable nostrums on which 40 years of diplomacy had been based. His book will be essential for anyone seeking to understand how that long-suffering icon, the international community, actually works -- or does not.--William Shawcross "Times of London " [An] excellent account of the brief golden age of peacekeeping.--Martin Woollacott "Guardian " A frank and perceptive account of what it was like to be at the heart of the UN at a time when its role in international relations was expanding at an astonishing pace... The core of this book is its account of the [UN's] individual peacekeeping operations. Never before has a UN official surveyed this aspect of the UN's work in such detail or with such style and distinction. Goulding is intellectually rigorous, always asking what the purposes of particular missions are, whether they can be realized, and what lessons might be drawn from them.--Adam Roberts "Times Literary Supplement " "A frank and perceptive account of what it was like to be at the heart of the UN at a time when its role in international relations was expanding at an astonishing pace... The core of this book is its account of the [UN's] individual peacekeeping operations. Never before has a UN official surveyed this aspect of the UN's work in such detail or with such style and distinction. Goulding is intellectually rigorous, always asking what the purposes of particular missions are, whether they can be realized, and what lessons might be drawn from them." -- Adam Roberts, Times Literary Supplement "Goulding kept meticulous diaries throughout his time at the UN and he has used them well to provide what is perhaps the most detailed and incisive insider's account of how that bizarre but necessary organization works... Peacemonger is an invaluable account of how the end of the Cold War eradicated all the comfortable nostrums on which 40 years of diplomacy had been based. His book will be essential for anyone seeking to understand how that long-suffering icon, the international community, actually works -- or does not." -- William Shawcross, Times of London "[An] excellent account of the brief golden age of peacekeeping." -- Martin Woollacott, Guardian

In 1986, British diplomat Marrack Goulding became the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations in charge of peacekeeping. Since 1978, no new peacekeeping operations had been launched, while existing ones in the Middle East, Cyprus, and Kashmir had stagnated. During the following seven years, however, Goulding presided over 16 new missions, including highly controversial efforts in Angola, Yugoslavia and Somalia. Goulding's historic tenure coincided with a dramatic shift in attitude within the UN about its role in ending regional conflicts. In "Peacemonger", he provides an insider's account of the organization's successes and failures in this period. From the UN's unwieldy bureaucracy and its often uneasy relationship with member states to the individual courage of many of its officials and their frequently unsung achievements, Goulding details the UN's responses to the crises of the post-Cold War world. He offers frank portraits of Javier Perez de Cuellar and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the two Secretaries-General under whom he worked, and chronicles the internal strife that undermined the UN's efficiency. He also documents the development during his watch of new types of peacekeeping missions that did far more than preside over ongoing and irresolvable conflicts. In Namibia, Cambodia and Central America, UN peacekeepers facilitated democratic elections and the demobilization of belligerents. Dispassionate, perceptive and honest, Peacemonger offers vital insights into the UN's most perilous and contentious activity.