In early 2004, the outbreak of political violence in Haiti and President Aristide's departure into exile provoked first a US and French military intervention to stabilize the security situation, and then deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. This article will first offer a historical narrative, placing the UN's recent intervention in the larger context of the intense international involvement in Haiti's affairs throughout the 1990s, including sanctions, UN-authorized use of force, a peacekeeping operation and years of peacebuilding efforts, all ending in failure. After identifying some of the policy lessons derived from the saga, the article then looks at the challenges ahead in relation to recent UN policy initiatives and reforms, notably on peacebuilding. It attempts to assess whether prospects for sustainable state-building in Haiti are consequently better than they were in 1994.

This chapter provides a history of the Security Council from 1945 until today. The authors argue that the common division into a Cold War period, during which the Council was largely paralyzed, and a post-Cold War one, during which it has emerged as a central actor in international conflict management, obscures important changes since the end of the Cold War. Most occur in the twenty-first century and include a resurgence in peacekeeping, a growing thematic agenda, a preoccupation with terrorism and other transnational threats, and increasing attention to civilian protection. The Council has also seen a return of great power tensions, manifest by P-5 differences over Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. However, the biggest division does not run among the P-5 but the ten elected members that struggle to leave a mark in Council decision-making. Reform is essential.

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