Summaries This article examines the rise of the military humanitarian policy of the United Nations since 1992 and outlines the new military doctrine on peacekeeping. First it explores how a military based approach to the increasing number of complex political emergencies emerged as a deliberate policy within the United Nations in the new humanitarian era after the Cold War. Second, it looks at various NGO reactions to this new era. Third, it compares the very different nature of today's UN peacekeeping operations with its Cold War predecessors. Fourth, it examines current British Army doctrine of ‘wider peacekeeping’ and its emphasis on the principle of consent. Finally, it takes the view that the new peacekeeping is here to stay and that the main challenge facing all those involved in humanitarian assistance is to further refine its basic principles and techniques.