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As the United Nations passes its 50th anniversary, it has undergone a sea-change in its approach towards peacekeeping. Originally a stop-gap measure to preserve a ceasefire, peacekeeping has, since the waning of the Cold War, become a mean to implement an agreed political solution to conflict between antagonists. Placed inside war-torn states, UN peacekeepers have encountered manifold new challenges through oversight of elections, protection of human rights, and reconstructing of governmental administration. In this study, the author sees the UN as an administrator, mediator and guarantor of political settlements, roles that can conflict when peace accords unravel, as is all too common. He describes the numerous actors, inside and outside the UN, who are engaged in this process, often with competing interests. In the historical review, beginning with the League of Nations, he reveals many precedents before the 1990s. In the central case study, the author applies his thesis to the UN's Cambodia mission of 1991-93. After reconstructing the process leading to the massive UN role, he reviews and appraises its performance, offering a critique demonstrating the dangers of quick "success" or "failure" verdicts. with the experiences of those operations in mind, he concludes with a set of recommendations for the UN's members.