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

The new forms of peace operations -- International visions of war and peace -- Local geography of UN peace operations -- The sphere of political, military, and economic entrepreneurs -- Indigenous 'civil societies' -- '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 history of relations with the outside world -- Figures of intervention -- Factors of mobilisation against the UN -- Ideas of 'legitimacy' and 'impartiality' redefined by local conditions -- What local actors expect from the UN -- Highly volatile balance of power -- Neither 'indifferent' nor 'apathetic' : why local communities protect themselves from the peacekeepers -- The limits of imposed 'procedural democracy' in post-war societies -- The political non-sense of most economic reconstruction programs -- Ambiguities of peacekeepers' role in maintaining 'law and order' -- The forgotten dimensions of 'justice' and 'reconciliation' programs.