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MILITARY PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS 243

United Kingdom have expected much of their humanitarian, and related UN-sponsored
militaries to be stationed, and more recently missions’, which involved more instability
deployed, outside the country. Upon removal and risk than previously, but also notes that
of the Cold War exclusionary doctrine, the defense policy stated in 1991 and reiterated
United States started participating in UN in 1994 placed the highest priority on
peacekeeping operations, although it has defense of sovereignty and civil defense, and
tended to regard these missions as distractions alliance responsibilities, with peacekeeping
from the primary mission of fighting and win- accorded a lower priority.
ning wars. It has nonetheless participated in Another form of maladaptation of tradi-
missions across the peacekeeping spectrum, tional peacekeepers is passivity. The
ranging from the interposition mission of the Netherlands, like Canada, has also been an
Sinai MFO to very forceful peace enforce- effective participant in UN peace operations
ment on the Arabian Peninsula. Indeed, for decades. However, in 1995, while respon-
Moskos (2000: 15) postulates that since 1990, sible for maintaining the security of a safe
the major mission definition of the American UN refugee enclave in Srebrenica, a battalion
military has shifted from alliance support to of Dutch peacekeepers assisted Serbs in
peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. removing 8,000 Muslim men and boys from
Those nations whose military cultures are the enclave. The Serbs then killed 7,000
built upon a moderate war-fighting/national of these refugees – the worst massacre
defense ethos, and which have a long history in post-World War II Europe. The Dutch
of peacekeeping participation that dates to Cabinet resigned. The Dutch soldiers who
the Cold War era, are expected to continue were deployed to Srebrenica continue to
their participation. However, the increased suffer psychological difficulties due to their
involvement of major powers threatens their experience. Van der Meulen (2000: 104)
established role in the international commu- reports that in the wake of Srebrenica, the
nity as the major source of peacekeeping Dutch have been ‘more prudent’ in their will-
personnel to some degree. This challenge to ingness to join UN missions, and have been
their traditional role, the more martial stance more consciously balancing the ideal of safe-
of the major powers with regard to peace- guarding a peaceful international order
keeping, the relative increase in peace opera- against their own national security interests.
tions at the more forceful end of the peace The societies that are heavily oriented
operations spectrum, and the relative ambi- toward territorial defense and have recently
guity of peacekeeping norms during this had relatively pacifist cultures include
period of transition may produce a change in Germany and Japan. Despite the role that
their peacekeeping behavior. Germany played in NATO during the Cold
One example of traditional peacekeepers War era, these nations had low profiles in
moving in a more assertive direction comes global military affairs, and did not operate
from Canada, which has learned from long outside of their own territories. These roles
peacekeeping experience that sometimes the had been imposed on them by the victorious
use of force is necessary. This change in powers at the end of World War II. The new
posture involves liabilities. While on peace- norms of burden-sharing in support of inter-
keeping duty in Somalia in 1994, members national security are now requiring a shift in
of the Canadian Airborne Regiment tortured their military cultures in a more assertive or
and killed a Somali youth. This incident shook aggressive direction, with an expectation that
the Canadian Forces and Canadian society, they will participate militarily in operations
and the regiment was deactivated (Winslow, outside their own national areas.
1998). Pinch (2000: 158–9) notes that as Germany and Japan have different military
the Cold War ended, Canada had already cultures, and have followed different strate-
‘increased its participation in peacekeeping, gies in moving into the current era, although