Description
Book SynopsisThe author offers a rare window into the real world of UN peacekeeping missions in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The author’s story is one of presidents and prelates, warlords and warriors, heroes and villains, achievements and disappointments—and innocent people caught in the midst of deadly violence. As he shares his front-line experiences, he reflects on the reasons for successes and failures and on the qualities that leaders need to successfully guide efforts to rebuild peace and prosperity in devastated societies. Not least, he also considers the UN’s future role in conflict prevention and peacekeeping in a climate of increasing resistance to intervention in “other people’s wars.”
Trade ReviewAlan Doss led, or helped to lead, UN peacekeeping missions in Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. His on-the-ground experience means that his book is both a vivid personal memoir, and a deeply informed reflection on the international community's role in ending deadly conflicts in Africa." -
Financial Times,
Summer Books of 2020: Politics"A Peacekeeper in Africa is Alan Doss’s refreshingly honest, thoughtful and highly readable account of his experiences. For the light it casts on the history of peacekeeping and peacebuilding in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as on the distinctive challenges faced by UN peacekeepers deployed in the midst of ‘other people’s wars’, Doss’s memoir represents an important and very welcome contribution to the literature." -
Survival: Global Politics and Strategy“Offers a thoughtful guide to the inner workings and problems of UN operations.” - Richard Gowan,
World Politics Review“A fascinating book from a peacekeeper who has seen much but is still grasping for answers.” - Stephen Williams,
African Business Review“Offers great insights … and deserves many readers among both scholars and practitioners.” - Ulf Engel,
Connections: A Journal for Historians and Area Specialists“To read this book is to understand what the UN can (and cannot) do in conflict management.” - Colonel Matthew Whitchurch,
Royal Engineers JournalTable of ContentsA Journey in Peacekeeping. THINGS FALL APART: WEST AFRICAN WARS. Sierra Leone: The Search for Peace. Côte d'Ivoire: The War of Succession. Liberia: From War to Peace. WARS WITHOUT WINNERS: PEACEKEEPING IN CONGO. Into the Cauldron: Congo Past and Present. Crisis Without End: The Kivu Wars. The Contagion of Conflict: Other Places, Other Wars. Pursuing Peace: Stabilization, Peacebuilding, and Transition. OUT OF THE SHADOWS: THE PROMISE OF PEACE. Great Expectations: Intervention and Its Conceits. Pipe Dreams and Possibilities: Navigating Pathways to Peace. PEACEKEEPING TODAY AND TOMORROW: MOVING FORWARD. Job Like No Other: Leading Peacekeeping Missions. Facing the Future: Actions for Peace.
