Australian Peacekeeping: Sixty Years In The Field

Description:
Peacekeeping has been a significant part of Australia's overseas military engagement since the end of the Second World War. Yet it is a part of the country's history that has been largely neglected until the 1990s, and even since then interest has been slow to develop. In the last sixty years, between 30,000 and 40,000 Australian military personnel and police have served in more than 50 peacekeeping missions in at least 27 different conflicts. This insightful, engaging and superbly-edited volume approaches Australian peacekeeping from four angles: its history, its agencies, some personal reflections, and its future. Contributors discuss the distinction between peacekeeping and war-fighting, the importance of peacekeeping in terms of public policy, the problems of multinational command, and the specialist contributions of the military, civilian police, mine-clearers, weapons inspectors and diplomats.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Contributors; Introduction; Part I. The Historical Record: 1. Inventing peacekeeping Peter Londey; 2. Australian peacekeeping and the new world order David Horner; 3. Humanitarian intervention and domestic politics: Australia's decisions to participate in Cambodia, Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda John Connor; 4. Australian peace operations in the South Pacific 1980-2006: from neighbourhood watch to neighbourhood intervention Bob Breen; Part II. The Agencies: 5. The Australian Defence Force and peacekeeping Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie; 6. Foreign affairs and peacekeeping James Batley; 7. Full spectrum policing - the Australian Federal Police from peacekeeping to the rule of law Superintendent Tim Dahlstrom and Federal Agent James Steedman; 8. Non-government organisations and peacekeeping Major General Mike Smith; Part III. The Participants: 9. Command in Cambodia - a memoir Lieutenant General John Sanderson; 10. Commanding multinational forces Major General Tim Ford; 11. Landmines, Australians and peacekeeping Ian Mansfield; 12. Weapons inspection Rod Barton; 13. Observers in UNTSO Keith Howard, Brigadier Paul Symon, Major General Ian Gordon and Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Meacham; 14. Police in peacekeeping - a personal view Commander Geoff Hazel; 15. International policing - a career opportunity Federal Agent Erica Hanisch; Part IV. Future Peacekeeping: 16. Peacekeeping: past experience, future prospects Major General Tim Ford; 17. Peacekeeping: yesterday, today and tomorrow Ramesh Thakur; Appendices; Notes; Index.

Author Biography:
David Horner is Professor of Australian Defence History in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. Peter Londey is a Lecturer in Classics in the School of Language Studies at the Australian National University. Jean Bou is a Historian in the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial.