The United Nations and Global Security

Many have proclaimed the fundamentals of global security were altered by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Do these changes undercut or enhance the role of the United Nations? What do events like the role of the UN in the crisis over Iraq tell us? Here top scholars examine the role of the UN in preventing international and civil violence, arms control, deterring and reversing aggression, and addressing humanitarian crises. The chapters are concise while providing depth of understanding of the issues, positions and problems facing the United Nations and its member states in grappling with increased opportunities and threats. Their lively presentations of the drama of UN debates establish the contributions and shortcomings of global multilateralism in an era of U.S. hegemony and unilateralism.

"This highly timely, first-rate volume provides a comprehensive, clear-eyed, and sober assessment of the past, present, and future roles of the United Nations in global security. The systematic analysis of what the UN has and has not been able to accomplish - and why - generates, for all students of the UN, a more realistic understanding of what we might reasonably expect of it in the future." - Michael Barnett, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"This collection of essays does justice to the complexities of the United Nations and the problématique of global security. The contributors are committed multilateralists who do not shy away from portraying the harsh realities of the world organization, warts and all. They remind us that while the UN clearly has not eliminated the scourge of war, it certainly has helped dampen violence, control arms, deliver aid to war victims, and prevent conflicts." - Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor and Director, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The CUNY Graduate Center

"This very high-quality book offers much more than the sum of its parts. It challenges us to think clearly and critically about the various roles of the United Nations in reducing conflict and violence. It should be read by all concerned with the future of the United Nations." - David Malone, President, International Peace Academy

LLOYD AXWORTHY Director and CEO of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada KATHRYN FURLONG PhD student at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in the Department of Political Science and a Research Associate with the International Peace Research Institutes (Oslo) Conditions of War and Peace Program FEN OSLER HAMPSON Professor and Director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada BRIAN L. JOB Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre of International Relations at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada ASIF R. KHAN Has been working for the United Nations since 1995. He is currently Political Affairs Officer in the Africa Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA W. ANDY KNIGHT Professor in the Department of Political Science and the McCalla research Professor at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada KEITH KRAUSE Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland JOANNE LEE Australian lawyer and is currently in a PhD programme, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada GIL LOESCHER Senior Fellow for Forced Displacement and International Security at The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, UK and Research Associate at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, UK EDWARD C. LUCK is Director of the Center on International Organization and Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, New York, USA ANDREW MACK Director of the Human Security Center at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada ALLEN G. SENS Senior Instructor in the Department of Political Science and Chair of the International Relations Program at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada NINA TANNENWALD Joukowsky Family Assistant Research Professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, Providence, USA RAMESH THAKUR Vice Rector of the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan JENNIFER WELSH is University Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Oxford, UK.