Traditionally, peacekeeping has been defined as a process where a group of lightly armed military personnel stood between two parties in a conflict who had agreed to a ceasefire, to keep the peace. The conventional guiding principles of peacekeeping are threefold: impartiality, minimum use of force and acquiring the consent of involved parties. Peacekeepers are typically contributed to the United Nations (UN) by member countries and deployed via the UN, though there are increasing instances of some nations – like Canada – deploying peacekeeping troops via their military on UN sanctioned missions.
To reflect the changing nature of peace operations, 'peacekeeping' is now often referred to more broadly as peace operations –considered to be more inclusive terminology. Whereas in the past, conflicts were mostly seen between two states (inter-state), today many conflicts happen between two or more groups in the same state (intra-state). At the same time, there has been increased hostility and targeting of civilians, and all involved parties are not following commonly accepted international conventions for conflict. This means that the way we bring conflict to an end has changed, and by default, the activities that fall under peace operations have also evolved. Contemporary peace operations encompass a wide array of activities which help secure durable peace, from peace enforcement to reconstruction efforts; this assortment reflects the fact that the international community has the opportunity to intervene at any point along the conflict continuum.
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