| Publication |
2005.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the motives of the Dutch government for participating in UNIFIL in 1979 and for withdrawal after six years. The Dutch government was swayed mainly by considerations of national prestige. It decided to participate in UNIFIL as a way to improve the standing of the Netherlands in the world. From the outset, the Dutch government had little faith in the feasibility of the mandate and the usefulness of the operation. It would also have preferred to leave southern Lebanon as soon as possible, but the fear of losing international credibility and putting a spanner in the works of US diplomacy deterred it from taking that step.
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