LEADER 03601nam 2200541 a 450 001 9910806250103321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-281-97556-7 010 $a9786611975562 010 $a0-19-972419-9 035 $a(CKB)1000000000747246 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000312399 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11212359 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000312399 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10331602 035 $a(PQKB)10440216 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC430915 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL430915 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10358342 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL197556 035 $a(OCoLC)317454871 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000747246 100 $a20080425d2008 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 14$aThe United Nations $ea very short introduction /$fJussi M. Hanhimaki 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aOxford ;$aNew York $cOxford University Press$dc2008 215 $a1 online resource (171 pages) $cillustrations 225 1 $aVery short introductions ;$v199 311 0 $a0-19-530437-3 311 0 $a0-19-530436-5 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 156-161) and index. 327 $aThe best hope of mankind? : a brief history of the UN -- An impossible hybrid : the structure of the United Nations -- Facing wars, confronting threats : the UN Security Council in action -- Peacekeeping to peacebuilding -- Economic development to human development -- Rights and responsibilities : human rights to human security -- Reform and challenges : the future of the United Nations. 330 $aThe United Nations has been called everything from "the best hope of mankind" to "irrelevant" and "obsolete." With this much-needed introduction to the UN, Jussi Hanhimaki engages the current debate over the organizations effectiveness as he provides a clear understanding of how it was originally conceived, how it has come to its present form, and how it must confront new challenges in a rapidly changing world. After a brief history of the United Nations and its predecessor, the League of Nations, the author examines the UN's successes and failures as a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international law, and as an engineer of socio-economic development. Hanhimaki stresses that the UN's greatest problem has been the impossibly wide gap between its ambitions and capabilities. In the area of international security, for instance, the UN has to settle conflicts--be they between or within states--without offending the national sovereignty of its member states, and without being sidelined by strong countries, as happened in the 2003 intervention of Iraq. Hanhimaki also provides a clear accounting of the UN and its various arms and organizations (such as UNESCO and UNICEF), and he offers a critical overview of how effective it has been in the recent crises in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, for example--and how likely it is to meet its overall goals in the future. The United Nations, Hanhimaki concludes, is an indispensable organization that has made the world a better place. But it is also a deeply flawed institution, in need of constant reform. 410 0$aVery short introductions ;$v199. 676 $a341.23 700 $aHanhimaki$b Jussi M.$f1965-$0848189 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910806250103321 996 $aThe United Nations$94098087 997 $aUNINA