Book excerpt: This book examines UN naval peace operations, addressing the construction and assessment of authority with respect to a range of acts essential to the conduct of such operations. The focus is particularly upon operations as they relate to and impact upon the Territorial Sea. Within a conceptual approach emphasising the interaction of power and legitimation in the construction of authority, naval peace operations issues such as Innocent Passage, interdiction operations, and transitional administration are considered. The book concludes by proposing a conceptually and operationally sensitive approach to constructing authority for the conduct of UN naval peace operations in the Territorial Sea.