Sovereignty and Standby: The 1964 Conference on UN Peacekeeping Forces.

Since 1945 the idea of some form of permanent UN peacekeeping force has been considered. There have been many suggestions as to how such a force could improve training, reaction time to crises, coordination efficiency and financial stability. The periods 1944-50 and 1990 to the present have been particularly active but the idea was also discussed during the four decades in-between. This article analyses international support for the idea in the mid-1960s by examining the plans, proceedings and results of a conference of 23 countries in 1964, organized by Canada. It shows that during 1950-90 small and middle powers (particularly Canada) were, like the superpowers, reluctant to sacrifice national sovereignty to the international organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]