Historical dictionary of multinational peacekeeping /

The history of peacekeeping illustrates the need for this updated edition, the publication of which is also appropriately timed, marking the centenary of multinational peacekeeping operations. Since the last edition, 13 operations have ceased and their corresponding articles need to be finalized; 12 operations continue, and so need an update covering the last decade; and 13 new operations have commenced (2 of which are now completed). And those updates are only for the main entries on the operations themselves; they do not even begin to cover the secondary articles (i.e., on commanders or new countries participating in the operations) that need updating or inclusion. A glaring omission is the lack of maps of the operations. Many readers will likely be unfamiliar with places such as Abkhazia or South Ossetia, so maps would be very helpful. This reviewer can also think of a dozen charts that would have added to the book's value. The chronology and list of acronyms and abbreviations were good additions. The bibliography, while limited to English, is extensive and helpfully divided into well-defined sections. However, this reviewer found that the use of all capitals for the "See Also" references made some pages practically illegible. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through graduate students. --Stephen J. Stillwell, formerly, University of Arizona

This is the twenty-ninth entry in the Historical Dictionaries of International Organizations series and is a third edition. Author Mays, a professor of political science at the Citadel, teaches specialized courses on multinational peacekeeping and international organizations. His stated goal for this work i. to present enough information on the major multinational operations to allow readers to cut through any confusion and gain a better understanding of the military missions fielded since 1920. An introduction explains peacekeeping and discusses functions of peacekeeping missions, mandating organizations, and peacekeeping trends and issues. A very helpful feature is the 12-page section that defines the acronyms and abbreviations used throughout the dictionary. The chronology runs from 1920 through January 2010. The 500-plus entries range in length from one sentence to a full page and cover peacekeeping operations, key military and civilian individuals, political crises requiring intervention by peacekeeping operations, international organizations, and specific events during the multinational missions. There are numerous see and see also references. An appendix contains three examples of peacekeeping mandates. A select but comprehensive bibliography completes the volume. Also included are 32 photographs pertaining to UN, EU, and NATO missions. Criticisms noted in reviews of the first and second editions appear to have been given attention. One criticism was the lack of more current publications listed in the bibliography; the bibliography has been updated. One reviewer noted some faults in the linking of see and see also references, but that too appears to have been remedied. As more than 81 new peacekeeping missions have occurred between December 2001 and January 2010 alone, it is a major undertaking to bring all of this information together concisely in one volume. This would be a good purchase for academic libraries in particular.--Talley, Kay. Copyright 2010 Booklist