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A compact yet comprehensive handbook designed for the general public, Basic Facts about the United Nations sets forth the structure of the United Nations, how it works and the main issues it deals with in their importance for people everywhere. Along with explaining the role played by its principal organs and the family of UN organizations, individual chapters explore UN contributions to international peace and security; economic and social development; human rights; humanitarian action; international law; and decolonization.

The 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 wasoriginally 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.

How does the United Nations actually work? How does it reconcile the diverse interests of 191 sovereign member states - plus those of the multinational corporations that lobby it, the numerous NGOs with which it interacts, and the enormous international secretariat that services it - in the search for effective solutions to the myriad problems it confronts daily? Politics and Process at the United Nations answers these questions, providing a vivid picture of the dynamic interaction between actors and institutional structures.

The United Nations Today reflects the multitude of ways in which the United Nations touches the lives of people everywhere. It chronicles the work of the Organisation in such areas as peace, development, human rights, humanitarian assistance, disarmament and international law. In describing the work of the United Nations family of organisations, this book provides a comprehensive account of the many challenges before the international community, as well as the joint ongoing efforts to find solutions.

Serves as the definitive text for courses in which the United Nations is either the focus or a central component. Built around three critical themes in international relations--peace and security, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and sustainable human development--The United Nations and Changing World Politics guides students through the seven turbulent decades of UN politics. This new edition is fully revised to incorporate recent developments on the international stage, including new peace operations in Mali and the Central African Republic; ongoing UN efforts to manage the crises in Libya, Syria, and Iraq; the Iran Nuclear Deal; and the new Sustainable Development Goals.

This simple, authoritative guide provides a starting point for readers who are new to the UN. In clear language, this book explains what the UN does, how the UN does it, who the actors are, and when historical milestones occurred. Illustrated with photos and stories from the field, the guide examines the work of the UN in international peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, and humanitarian action. As a resource to students and teachers alike, additional features include definitions of frequently used terms, rich statistics, questions and answers, and the building blocks of international law.

This is a comprehensive and timely guide to the United Nations (UN) human rights machinery. Today, virtually all UN bodies and specialized agencies are undertaking efforts to incorporate the promotion or protection of human rights into their programs and activities. The United Nations and Human Rights examines these recent initiatives within the broader context of human rights practice. It provides the most up-to-date and incisive analysis of this increasingly important area of global politics.

The United Nations (U.N.) is a global organization dedicated to international peace and stability. The U.N. was established in 1945 following the events of World War II. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more. This book looks at issues involving the United Nations.

This short introduction to the United Nations analyzes the organization as it is today, and how it can be transformed to respond to its critics. Combining essential information about its history and workings with practical proposals of how it can be strengthened, Trent and Schnurr examine what needs to be done, and also how we can actually move toward the required reforms.

Explores American reactions to hostile world opinion, as voiced in the United Nations by representatives of the Global South from 1970 to 1984. Byrnes suggests this challenge had a significant impact on US policy and politics, shaping the rise of the New Right and neoliberal visions of the world economy. Integrating developments in American political and diplomatic history with the international history of decolonization and the "Third World," Disunited Nations adds to our understanding of major transitions in foreign policy as the US moved away from the expansive internationalist global commitments of the immediate postwar era toward a more nationalist and neoliberal understanding of international affairs.