Suchergebnisse

This article reassesses Soviet motives for invading Afghanistan in 1979, based on newly available archival materials, especially from the former USSR. The article argues that these Soviet documents show that the 1979 invasion reflected defensive rather than offensive objectives. Specifically, the USSR sought to restrain extremist elements of the Afghan communist party, who were undermining stability on the southern Soviet frontier. The findings of this article are at odds with long-standing views that the invasion of Afghanistan was part of a larger Soviet strategy aimed at threatening the Persian Gulf and other western interests. (Crit Asian Stud/GIGA)

This paper analyses peacekeeping impartiality, i.e. the extent to which peacekeepers
act in the interests of international peace and security, rather than
the interests of specific states or other external actors. It reevaluates the
question of impartiality through an analysis of the Congo operation of July–September
1960. This case study was selected because it was by far the most
important instance of peacekeeping during the Cold War. Based upon primary
source materials from US, British, and UN archives, as well as memoirs
and secondary sources, it finds that the Congo peacekeeping force intervened
to a considerable extent in the internal politics of the Congo; in doing so,
the peacekeepers collaborated with US policymakers and, to some extent,
advanced their strategic objectives. A comparison between the Congo operation
and recent cases of peacekeeping in post-Cold War Africa indicates
that impartiality is likely to remain an elusive goal.