This is an academic paper that discusses and observes how the financing of UN peacekeeping missions has changed in the Post-Cold War era.

Even though the frequency of peacekeeping missions has increased since the administration of Secretary-General Kofi Anan because of the effor to create a "culture of peace," the ability to finance and provide adequate troops for UN peacekeeping missions has become far more precarious.  First, there is a huge financial contribution gap between developed and developing states represented at the UN.  This is because a) countries like Canada and the United States can contribute financially more easially to UN peacekeeping missions because of greater economic wealth than a developing state like Fiji or Egypt and b) the UN Assessment Share program, developed c. 1975 to enhance the ability for the UN to pay for peacekeeping missions, delegates the percentages of state constributions according to five criteria:  1) affluence in the UN 2) size of country, 3)GDP 4) economic wealth and 5)voting ability within the UN.  Even though the Assesment Shares plan has improved financial contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, it promotes the political and economic gap between developed and developing countries that already exists.  Therefore, the UN will either have to change its methods, or start working with other organizations to make peacekeeping missions a reality.