Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-288) and index.

The new forms of peace operations -- International visions of war an d peace -- Local geography of UN peace operations -- The sphere of poli tical, military, and economic entrepreneurs -- Indigenous 'civil societ ies' -- 'Local' employees of UN operations -- Different interpretations of a peace operation's mandate -- Missions' (in)capacity to carry out their mandates -- Peacekeepers lost in complex environments -- The hist ory of relations with the outside world -- Figures of intervention -- F actors of mobilisation against the UN -- Ideas of 'legitimacy' and 'imp artiality' redefined by local conditions -- What local actors expect fr om the UN -- Highly volatile balance of power -- Neither 'indifferent' nor 'apathetic' : why local communities protect themselves from the pea cekeepers -- The limits of imposed 'procedural democracy' in post-war s ocieties -- The political non-sense of most economic reconstruction pro grams -- Ambiguities of peacekeepers' role in maintaining 'law and orde r' -- The forgotten dimensions of 'justice' and 'reconciliation' progra ms.