The United Nations And The Maintenance Of International Security

This new edition considers the unifying legal attributes that span vastly differing inter-governmental organisations, from the UN to the EU. A law of international organisations has become established in certain areas, such as legal personality, powers, membership, finance, and decision-making. In other, newer, areas - accountability, responsibility and democracy - politics is still much rawer, and has not yet been fully converted into legal concepts and principles. As with the first edition, there are plenty of examples of organisations given in the text. Individual organisations dealing with issues such as security, health, civil aviation, finance and trade are scrutinised by way of example, to illustrate how different they can be, but also to show how it is possible to debate a set of legal principles that transcend each institution. This new edition of an established text will appeal to students and academics as well as individuals seeking a legal and political insight into international organisations.

International security must be understood in much broader terms in the aftermath of the Cold War. This extensively revised edition retains the valuable descriptions and analyses of the United Nations' achievements and failures, while placing them in the context of the ever-broadening definition of international security and of changing attitudes toward national sovereignty and humanitarian intervention. In order to deal with the internal struggles that are now the prevalent form of conflict, it is necessary to allay the root causes of tensions within societies. Means of enforcement must be applied to prevent gross violations of human rights, including genocide. Sutterlin describes the background of innovations that recent crises have imposed on the UN. He analyzes how recent reforms have affected the UN's capacity to deal with the security problems of the new century. Peacekeeping, peace-enforcement, peace-building, and the application of sanctions all bring new challenges. In one chapter, Sutterlin focuses on the UN's experience in enforcing disarmament in Iraq. A new chapter details the impact of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction on UN policies and actions. This systematic presentation, using scholarly analysis and a practitioner's inside knowledge, provides a readable and challenging text for courses on the United Nations.

The role of the United Nations in collective security has been evolving since its inception in 1945. This book explores collective security as practiced within the legal framework provided by the United Nations Charter, with a particular focus upon activity undertaken under the auspices of the UN Security Council, the body conferred by the Charter with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Although the book is primarily grounded in international law, where appropriate it also draws upon relevant political insights in order to present a clear picture of the UN collective security system in operation and the factors which impact upon the way in which it functions. Offering a comprehensive analysis it considers the full range of measures which can be utilised by the UN in the performance of its collective security remit including military enforcement action, peacekeeping, non-military sanctions and diplomacy. The book considers each of these measures in detail, assessing the legal framework applicable to the form of action, the main legal controversies which arise in respect of their appropriate utilisation, and the UN’s use of this collective security ‘tool’ in practice. The book draws conclusions about the main strengths and shortcomings of the various means through which the UN can attempt to prevent, minimise or end conflict.

This book examines one of the most important challenges facing the United Nations today: the effective and lawful use of force by or under the authority of the UN to maintain or restore peace. It makes a significant contribution to the content of the law pertaining to the use of force by the UN and provides guidance as to the likely future developments in the legal framework governing collective action to maintain peace under the auspices of the United Nations.

This is the first major exploration of the United Nations Security Council's part in addressing the problem of war, both civil and international, since 1945. Both during and after the Cold War the Council has acted in a limited and selective manner, and its work has sometimes resulted in failure. It has not been - and was never equipped to be - the centre of a comprehensive system of collective security. However, it remains the body charged with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It offers unique opportunities for international consultation and military collaboration, and for developing legal and normative frameworks. It has played a part in the reduction in the incidence of international war in the period since 1945. This study examines the extent to which the work of the UN Security Council, as it has evolved, has or has not replaced older systems of power politics and practices regarding the use of force. Its starting point is the failure to implement the UN Charter scheme of having combat forces under direct UN command. Instead, the Council has advanced the use of international peacekeeping forces; it has authorized coalitions of states to take military action; and it has developed some unanticipated roles such as the establishment of post-conflict transitional administrations, international criminal tribunals, and anti-terrorism committees. The book, bringing together distinguished scholars and practitioners, draws on the methods of the lawyer, the historian, the student of international relations, and the practitioner. It begins with an introductory overview of the Council's evolving roles and responsibilities. It then discusses specific thematic issues, and through a wide range of case studies examines the scope and limitations of the Council's involvement in war. It offers frank accounts of how belligerents viewed the UN, and how the Council acted and sometimes failed to act. The appendices provide comprehensive information - much of it not previously brought together in this form - of the extraordinary range of the Council's activities. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.