Peacemaking in Rwanda

Argumentative Essay # 58353

English > Argument
Ethnic Studies > Africa
Ethnic Studies > Conflict

An analysis of the failure of peacemaking in Rwanda.

1,581 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2003

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that, while political theorists are correct in arguing that the United Nations' efforts at peacemaking were not successful in Rwanda, they are wrong in ascribing that failure to the post-Cold War peacemaking process. The paper contends that the nature of the conflict and its roots led to complications and that theorists incorrectly present the theory that the United Nations has only used one single peacemaking approach in the post-Cold War period.

From the Paper:

"The United Nations has many responsibilities towards the world and three most important responsibilities are those of the prevention of conflict, conflict resolution and peacemaking. These three are related to one another but, at the same time, are differently defined. In the duty of prevention of conflict, the United Nations is supposed to keep an eye on the developing of tensions between ethnic groups or countries and take an action to resolve them before they grow into serious conflicts (Richmond). Conflict resolution starts from the idea that these tensions have become conflicts and, tries to end those conflicts. As explained by Oliver P. Richmond in "A Genealogy of Peacemaking: The Creation and Recreation of Order," the main way of resolving these conflicts is through negotiations and "diplomatic compromise." The relationship between prevention of conflict and resolution of conflict is obvious. The first stresses on the "management" of tensions before they develop into "intractable conflicts," and the second on the reducing back of the conflicts into "management" of tensions (Richmond). Also related to these two is peacemaking. Actually, there are many theories about the most effective peacemaking processes such as diplomatic negotiations, to military interferences that prevent the two parties from continuing their violence on one another (Bertram). Looking at this, it appears that the United Nations is serious about its peacemaking and conflict resolution responsibilities but, the author of "Rwanda, the Perils of Peacemaking," argues that the United Nations has failed in both these responsibilities since the end of the Cold War due to an incorrect approach. Although Clapham is correct in arguing that the United Nations' efforts at peacemaking were not successful in Rwanda, he is wrong in putting down that failure to just the post-cold war peacemaking process. In the first place, the nature of the conflict and its roots led to complications and, in the second place, he incorrectly presents the idea that the United Nations has only used one single peacemaking approach in the post-cold war period."