United For Peace Podcast

Parliamentary democracy begins and ends in Indonesia. Sukarno becomes an even bigger boss. And UNTEA is finally created! We are finally about to get to the UN peacekeeping operation, after 6 episodes in this series in a show about UN peacekeeping.

We are marathoning Indonesian political history from 1950 to 1961, in two parts, because, well, just look at the run time for just about half the relevant information in that period.

The Revolution finally ends. But that does not mean Indonesia and the Netherlands are done fighting. They will simply be on break.

The army is a mess. The government is a mess. The Dutch are imperialist. But the revolution is almost over. Almost.

Battles and massacres and intrigues, oh my!

The Dutch East Indies consolidate. Indonesia Declares Independence! Open conflict is just on the horizon!

We look back at why the mission was made by the General Assembly, why the GA would not continue making armed missions, how the mission succeeded, how it failed, and why it could not permanently settle things around Israel/Palestine.

In this episode, we cover the tragic ending of UNEF I. Not tragic just because it is ending, but because of  how  it ended.

Israel fully withdraws from Egypt, and UNEF inserts itself between the two States to maintain the peace. So, mission accomplished... for now.

We discuss the fight over the legality of the UNEF and start going over its deployment and operations.

The United Nations creates the first ever armed peacekeeping mission and deploys it. It is no easy feat.

Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal; The UK, France, and Israel are not pleased with Egypt overall and decide to invade. Many fear this could be the start of a third world war. Spoiler alert: it is not, but it could have been!

Wherein we cover the neglected civilian aid side of the mission, what more if anything ONUC could have done for the Congo, and what the UN learned from the Operation.

In December 1962, ONUC launched Operation Grand Slam, brining Katanga to its knees and finally, FINALLY bringing it back into the Congo by 1963. This was not until after experiencing tragedy on account of Antoine Gizenga's conspiratorial followers, however. This is the end of ONUC, but we will return for a retrospective in the next episode and cover the neglected civilian operations in the mi...

After constant harassment from Katanga, ONUC finally takes extreme action to all but cripple the Katangese government and its resistance to reintegration with the Congo. Tshombe, however, remains stubborn as ever.

ONUC creates a new mission command in Elisabethville in order to expel foreign mercenaries and advisors from Katanga. It is not a smooth process. Guest starring: morning birds singing directly outside my window.

In June 1960, the Republic of the Congo gained formal independence from Belgium. It did not take long for a crisis to erupt after a fool lit a match in a prime tinderbox.

Just two months into the UN Operation in the Congo, the State and Government of the Congo got into a fight. Yes, those are two separate things. And the consequences will be enormous.