During the period from the start of the United Nations Peace keeping Operations (in June 1948) to the end of the Cold War (in 1991), the Security Council had only once invoked
- Chapter VII of the UN Charter to endorse a "peace enforcement" mandate. This was the operation in the then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) from July 1960 to June 1964. However, for the last 20 years since 1992, "peace enforcement" has become a more regular practice conducted by the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security, accounting for a quarter of the on-going peacekeeping operations taking place around the world. This article explains this phenomenon while, at the same time, differentiating "UN peace enforcement" and "traditional UN peacekeeping". Based on that analysis, the article would also examine successes and shortcomings of "peace enforcement" during the last 20 years.