U.N. peacekeeping expands.

Spending on U.N. peacekeeping operations rose to a record $3 billion in 1993, a 69 percent increase from the previous year. Historically, very modest sums of money have been devoted to peacekeeping activities, but since 1987, spending has grown almost thirteenfold as the number, size, and complexity of these missions have exploded. From 1947 to 1993, the United Nations spent a cumulative $10 billion on peacekeeping.

In 1991, according to the Independent Advisory Group on U.N. Financing, the world's governments spent $1,877 on their militaries for each dollar they spent on U.N. peacekeeping. In just the past two years that ratio has changed rapidly in favor of contributions to U.N. missions, to within a range of 250:1 to 200:1. Yet the world still spends less on the "Blue Helmets" during one year than on traditional military forces in a couple of days. Clearly, governments across the globe still believe their security interests are better served by clinging to military muscle than by constructing a cooperative, less-heavily armed security system.

During the first four decades of the United Nations, 18 missions were undertaken. From 1979 to 1987, no new operations began. But during the past six years--1988 to 1993--25 new missions sprang to life, including the three largest ever: in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Until 1987, the highest number of active operations in any given year was seven. Since then, however, this number has skyrocketed to 22. With the exception of 1990, several new missions have been launched every year since 1987.

The escalation covered not only expenditures but also the number of people involved. In 1987, some 10,000 soldiers and civilians served with the Blue Helmets. By mid-1993, the number had swelled to about 85,000 (including almost 70,000 military personnel, 4,500 police, and more than 10,000 civilians); by the end of the year, it approached the 100,000 mark.

Even as the U.N.'s responsibilities have mushroomed, its members have effectively denied it the resources to cope with the challenges the keepers now face. Many governments pay their share late, or only a portion of what they owe. Collectively, the member states' peacekeeping arrears grew from $19 million in 1975 to $261 million in 1980 and then to $993 million by the end of 1993. This did not even include the deficit of roughly $200 million that the Cyprus operation, financed until 1993 through voluntary contributions, incurred.

When the U.N. is unable to cover its peacekeeping expenses, governments that contribute troops are left holding the bag; by October 1993, the U.N. owed them about $605 million. This unhappy experience renders them increasingly reluctant to commit personnel or equipment to future missions. Forced to deplete its working capital fund and to juggle money among different accounts, the U.N. is teetering on the edge of financial collapse at a time when its services are in demand as never before.