The United Nations : an introduction /
Sven Bernhard Gareis and Johannes Varwick ; translated by Lindsay P. Cohn.
- xiv, 284 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Adapted and updated translation of Die Vereinten Nationen (2003).
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The United Nations system. A short history of the United Nations ; The UN charter: purposes and principles ; The principal organs: competencies, functions and decision-making processes ; Programmes, funds and specialized agencies ; Financing of the United Nations system -- Institution-building, regime impact and globalization: the role and function of the UN. Theories of international organizations ; Challenges of globalization ; The primary tasks of the United Nations and the expansion of the concept of security -- The core of the United Nations: collective security. The principle of collective security: limitations and possibilities ; Still a challenge: the exclusion of war from international relations ; From the League of Nations to the United Nations: the organizational evolution of peace-maintenance ; The collective security system of the UN charter -- The changing practice of peacekeeping. The first four decades of peace-maintenance ; Peacekeeping after the Cold War ; Disarmament and arms control in the framework of the United Nations ; Prevention as a task of the United Nations ; The UN and international terrorism ; The UN and the 2003 war against Iraq -- The United Nations and human rights: normative development, codification and definition. Human rights in the UN charter ; The international bill of human rights ; Comprehensive protection of human rights -- Human rights protection: institutional framework and code of practice. Treaty-based bodies ; Human rights protection by UN organs ; Human rights protection: new fundamentals and perspectives -- Economic development and environmental questions in the United Nations: problem areas and institutional design. Responsibilities and fields of action ; The United Nations and multilateral co-operation on development ; Protection of refugees, humanitarian aid and population issues ; Protection of the global environment as an international challenge ; The functions of relevant UN bodies -- Reforms for the twenty-first century. Reform as a long and difficult process ; Institutional reforms ; Reforms in the area of peace-maintenance ; Reforms in the area of international law ; Reforms in the areas of economics, development and the environment -- Conclusions. Multilateralism and global governance: opportunities and limitations of a political concept ; Outlook: the United Nations in the twenty-first century -- -- The United Nations system -- Institution-building, regime impact and globalization : the role and function of the UN -- The core of the United Nations : collective security -- The changing practice of peacekeeping -- The United Nations and human rights : normative development, codification and definition -- Human rights protection : institutional framework and code of practice -- Economic, developmental and environmental questions in the United Nations : problem areas and institutional design -- Reforms for the twenty-first century -- Conclusions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
"This major new text provides a systematic introduction to the main areas of activity of the United Nations today and to its organization and evolution as well as an evaluation of its likely role and prospects for reform in the twenty-first century."--Publisher description.