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 what would become the largest peacekeeping operation of the Cold War, the Canadian government faced a difficult decision. Should it support the intervention?

As Kevin Spooner demonstrates, Canada’s involvement in the mission was not preordained. The Diefenbaker government became enmeshed in a complex web of foreign and defence policy determinants that caused it to have immediate and ongoing reservations – reservations that challenge cherished notions of Canada’s commitment to the UN and it status as a peacekeeper.

This book offers one of the first detailed accounts of Canada’s involvement in UN peacekeeping. It will appeal to those interested in Canadian foreign policy and relations with Africa in particular and the Congo crisis and United Nations peacekeeping more generally.