The Asia-Pacific in International Peace Support and Stability Operations

This book evaluates past and current contributions by Asia-Pacific nations to international peace support and stability missions, with a view to identifying trends and future prospects for such contributions. It fills a glaring gap in the existing literature examined below, which tends to focus predominantly on Western nations’ conduct of these said operations. In spite of widespread proclamations of the coming Asian century, there has been a dearth of sustained and systematic comparative analysis of what Asia-Pacific nations can or cannot contribute to international peace support and stability missions. While there are more than 40 newcomers in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping since the end of the Cold War, many of these newcomers, from a rising China to small states such as Singapore, hail from the Asia-Pacific region. On the other hand, more seasoned contributors such as Indonesia are increasingly viewed as an emerging power with potentially larger contributions to managing global security. Taken together, the increasing participation of Asia-Pacific nations in peace and stability missions also reflects a greater desire for countries in the region to play a larger international role commensurate with the eastward shift of economic and political power.