Canada, the Congo Crisis, and UN Peacekeeping, 1960-64

Download or read book Canada, the Congo Crisis, and UN Peacekeeping, 1960-64 written by Kevin A. Spooner and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1960 the Republic of Congo teetered near collapse as its first government struggled to cope with civil unrest and mutinous armed forces. When the UN established a peacekeeping operation to deal with the crisis, the Canadian government faced a difficult decision. Should it support the intervention? By offering one of the first detailed accounts of Canadian involvement in a UN peacekeeping mission, Kevin Spooner reveals that Canada’s involvement was not a certainty: the Diefenbaker government had immediate and ongoing reservations about the mission, reservations that challenge cherished notions of Canada’s commitment to the UN and its status as a peacekeeper.