Professor Travels World Researching Peacekeeping

One imagines university professors conducting their research at a rolltop desk wearing a shabby pair of khakis and a tweed jacket with a cocker spaniel curled up by the fireplace.

But Professor of Government Robert Jackson actually dons a helmet and flak jacket and jumps aboard a military helicopter with a gunner crouched in the doorway as his faithful companion.

Jackson is researching an upcoming book on peacekeeping in countries mired in chaos following civil wars and brutal dictatorships. He and his co-author and wife, Doreen Jackson, have traveled to Bosnia, Cypress, Kosovo, Croatia and Macedonia.

Jackson is an authority on foreign governments and international relations and has written or edited 27 books. But he has more than an academic interest in his newest topic.

Peacekeeping originated with Canada, and Jackson is a proud Canadian.

"We want to tell Canadians some of the inspiring stories about their fellow countrymen and women in the field of peacekeeping," Jackson said.

Jackson is quick to point out that peacekeeping is not synonymous with military presence. Military personnel and structure remain the backbone of most operations. But the faces of peacekeeping include aid workers, engineers and judges.

"Our book won't be about just the generals in these countries but about ordinary Canadians doing extraordinary things. We've interviewed Canadian police officers fighting the slave trade of women in Kosovo and Canadian civil servants trying to curb the spread of ethnic war in Macedonia. We've spoken with volunteers who have the gruesome task of collecting, identifying and burying dead civilians. Canadian contractors are in these countries building bridges, hospitals and schools."

For detailed information on peacekeeping operations, visit the United Nations home page at www.un.org/peace/.

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