la paix des bottes

18:30 Jun 19, 2011 

yes, I do think it is "peace by force" they are referring to here, just searching for an equivalent .... so far .soldier's boots on the ground. looks good

18:28 Jun 19, 2011 

i.e. security can be peace by force.

02:10 Jun 19, 2011 

I think "boots on the ground" means "out there", "in the field", as opposed to "from afar". The UN in NY tries to keep peace from afar by making rulings and resolutions, but when it comes down to it it needs "boots on the ground" to keep the peace. To say "boots on the ground peacekeeping" distorts what I take to be the meaning in your text, i.e. peace imposed by the (immediate) threat of military force, not merely a bunch go optimistic do-gooders going to a war-torn country and holding a sit-in for peace, what might be called "bums on the ground peacekeeping"!

22:39 Jun 18, 2011 

actually boots on the ground is a great suggestion, and shows lots of usage on google http://other-news.info/index.php?p=1638 for example, thanks ... (may end up with the peace imposed by boots on the ground)

22:33 Jun 18, 2011 

Would a phrase like "boots on the ground" pick up the sense of part of the French phrase in this context? Or something like "boots on the ground peacekeeping" Not sure if it's exactly what's called for.

15:42 Jun 18, 2011 

without the "active presence" of weapons. Even reference to the "thud of boots" has connotations of miltary weaponry - ask any Frenchman in the capital during the war.

13:24 Jun 18, 2011 

thank you both - yes, when you think of it in terms of "paix des armes" it makes sense. Still working on the English rendering tho, as it doesn't work quite so well in english.. I guess you could say ... the peace imposed by soldiers...

08:52 Jun 18, 2011 

It works in French because paix des armes has the sense of peace imposed by the threat of weaponry, like the Cold War. In English, "peace of arms" means rather that weapons are silent. In a sense it amounts to the same thing, but weapons can be silent without necessarily being a threat imposing peace.

07:27 Jun 18, 2011 

the boots of the soldiers - UN blue caps or whatever

Safety may be at the price of the heavy thud of military feet