The compilers of this encyclopedia are senior lecturers in peace studies at the University of Bradford. They point out that the work has been produced in order to respond to the growth of peacekeeping as a way of international conflict management and resolution, particularly in the decade which has just ended. The editorial work has been furthered by contributions from more than a dozen helpers whose names are listed in the preliminary pages of the volume. After a lengthy introduction in which the editors define peacekeeping, outline its history and prognosticate on its future, they provide a list of acronyms and abbreviations, necessary because many of them will be rather unfamiliar to users.
Then follow the 305 pages of the A to Z encyclopedia. It contains entries under countries such as Georgia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan; on individuals such as Ralph Bunche, Trygve Lie, David Owen and General Michael Rose; the work of the numerous United Nations agencies involved in peacekeeping; and in addition the searcher will discover entries under such headings as child soldiers, humanitarian assistance and intervention, no‐fly zones and many other topics which have great relevance in the field of international peacekeeping. In other words, Ramsbotham and Woodhouse have left few stones unturned in their efforts to produce a really comprehensive guide to this important topic. Included also are several United Nations maps reprinted by courtesy of the United Nations Department of Public Information.
The last 50 pages of the volume are devoted to appendices, a bibliography and an index. The first appendix lists the force commanders of UN peacekeeping missions from 1948 to 1998, giving their nationalities and the dates of their commands. Next comes an appendix devoted to the special representatives of the UN Secretary‐General over the same 50 years, and appendix 3 lists a plethora of international peacekeeping acronyms, again very necessary because of their number and their coverage. Did you know, for example, that BRA stands for Bougainville Revolutionary Army, or that FUNCINPEC is Front Uni National pour un Cambodge Indépendant, Neutre, Pacifique, et Co‐operatif (National Front for an Independent, Neutral, Prosperous and Cooperative Cambodia).
Well, we live and learn! This encyclopedia is a fount of education for students of peace studies, and is confidently recommended. Meanwhile, readers who wish to comment on matters of omission or future improvements are invited to contact the authors via the homepage of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford <http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/confres/crchome.html>
