This article examines operations in Angola and Namibia, countries that offer prime examples of UN peacekeeping, albeit with divergent outcomes. In Angola, numerous UN peace missions – namely, the verification missions UNAVEM I, II and III and the observation mission MONUA – failed to create a permanent secure and peaceful framework. In Namibia, the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), one of the first multidimensional UN peace operations, was able to successfully carry out its mandate. The article finds that the mandates, resources and operational environments of these various peacekeeping operations powerfully influenced their performance, and isolates applicable lessons from the experiences of the two countries.