Preventing humanitarian atrocities is becoming as important for the United Nations as dealing with inter-state war. In this book, Ramesh Thakur examines the transformation in UN operations, analysing its changing role and structure. He asks why, when and how force may be used and argues that the growing gulf between legality and legitimacy is evidence of an eroded sense of international community. He considers the tension between the US, with its capacity to use force and project power, and the UN, as the centre of the international law enforcement system. He asserts the central importance of the rule of law and of a rules-based order focused on the UN as the foundation of a civilised system of international relations. This book will be of interest to students of the UN and international organisations in politics, law and international relations departments, as well as policymakers in the UN and other NGOs.

The United Nations peacekeeping has evolved as a practical measure for preserving international peace and security. Recent peacekeeping has two important features: the use of force which arguably exceeds self-defence on the one hand, and multifunctional operations on the other. The Security Council has started considering a wide range of factors including serious human rights violations as threats to international peace and security. Recognising the UN's principle to seek peaceful settlement which underlies the legality of peacekeeping, this research focuses on the human rights functions of multifunctional peacekeeping operations. Such functions have immense potential for enhancing conflict resolution through peaceful means. In order to illustrate these issues and the diverse practice of UN peacekeeping, the author of this book has dealt with four detailed case studies on El Salvador, Cambodia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The achievements, problems and defects experienced by different operations are analysed using the insights of the author's own experience in a peacekeeping operation.

UN peace operations are increasingly asked to pursue stabilization mandates with lofty expectations of being able to stabilize conflict zones, achieve national reconciliation, and rebuild state legitimacy. This book investigates the relationship between UN stabilization mandates and the concept of ‘human security’. The book is divided into three parts. Part I outlines the emergence of stabilization and other trends in peacekeeping practice and outlines an analytical framework of human security. Part II applies the analytical framework to case studies of MINUSMA, MINUSCA, and UNMISS examining issues, such as human rights, empowerment, protection, and vulnerability. In Part III the book draws out several concerns that arise from stabilization mandates, including the militarisation of UN peace operations and the consequences under international humanitarian law, the risks of close cooperation with the host state and engagement in counter-terror activities, and the potential clash between peacebuilding activities and militarisation. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, policymakers and practitioners working on UN peacekeeping generally, and those specifically looking at stabilization, from the perspective of international relations, international law, peace and conflict studies, security studies and human rights.

Key resolutions from the first fifty years of the United Nations General Assembly.

“Fragility”—the combination of poor governance, limited institutional capability, low social cohesion, and weak legitimacy—leads to erosion of the social contract and diminished resilience, with significant implications for peace, security, and sustainable development. This study reviews how the international community has responded to this challenge and offers new ideas on how that response can be improved. Based on that examination, the author seeks to convey the importance of addressing this phenomenon as a high priority for the international community. Chapters explore the nature of these obstacles to sustainable development, peace, and security; how the international community has defined, measured, and responded to the phenomenon of fragility; how the international response might be made more effective; and implications for the United States.

This is an unparallelled analysis of the state of the United Nations peace operations and their impact on Asian security.This new volume examines new strategies being adopted by the UN; including doctrinal shifts in peace operation, and assesses the division of labour between the UN, regional organisation and non-governmental organisations/actors. Based on selected papers from mostly Asian scholars, the book offers regional perspectives from South, Southeast and Northeast Asia on the changing nature of UN Peace operations and analyses some of the core issues that are of critical relevance to regional security in Asia. In addition it reveals interesting new insights on the new players in the area of peace operations – i.e. China and Japan and considers their projected roles as defined by their respective security concepts. It also delves into issues of possible areas of concern caused by the new activism of these regional powers in peace operations. Finally, the book also revisits the significant lessons learnt from the UN experience in Cambodia and East Timor and examines their impact on future directions of peace operations. This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal International Peacekeeping.

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 13-14 Punkte, University of Marburg, 33 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Due to the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, Chapter VII of the UN-Charter has served for the Security Council to legalize military intervention against Iraq.13 In this connection, it is relevant to deal with Chapter VII as the only element within the Charter which authorizes the Security Council to make use of military force in case it characterizes a crisis as a threat for international peace or as a breach of peace. There from, scopes of action to protect international peace and security, but also possible barriers will be interpreted. Based on these theoretical fundamentals, the second part intends to give an empirical analysis in which it should be proven to what extent the Iraq-Kuwait crisis can be regarded as a renaissance of usage of force and in to what extent it can be really regarded as an example of outstanding cooperation between the members of Security Council. It would go beyond the scope of this paper to analyse every Resolution which passed by the Security Council before Resolution 678 was accepted and there is no interest in going into details about military action on the field.14 First of all it is relevant to give a short differentiation between Chapter VI and Chapter VII, because each of them suggests other strategies on how to treat a conflict. ...]

This book has peer-reviewed chapters by scholars from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the USA that were presented to the Ecology and Peace Commission (EPC) of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) in November 2012 in Japan. The chapters address these themes: Expanding Peace Ecology – Peace, Security, Sustainability, Equity and Gender; Two Discourses on Global Climate Change Impacts: From Climate Change and Security to Sustainability Transition; Peace Research and Greening in the Red Zone: Community-based Ecological Restoration to Enhance Resilience and Transitions Toward Peace; Social and Environmental Vulnerability in a River Basin of Mexico; Mobile Learning, Rebuilding Community Through Building Communities, Supporting Community Capacities: Post Natural Disaster Experience; Transforming Consciousness through Peace Environmental Education; Building Peace by Rebuilding Community; Ability Expectations and Peace and on Satoyama Sustainability and Peace.

This volume looks at the practical implications of mainstreaming human security. It focuses on the potential, problems and policies of human security in crisis management in general, and on crisis management operations of the European Union and the United Nations in particular. Topics addressed by the contributors include human rights in post-conflict situations, democratizing' crisis management, restorative responses to human rights violations by peacemakers, and human security in Serbia and Africa. Although many of the contributions to the book focus on mainstreaming human security in the EU context, the chapters discuss global issues and draw conclusions which are of relevance all over the world.

One hundred countries—more than half of the world’s population—have made significant strides in the last 30 years, improving life expectancy and the health of their populations. Despite socioeconomic limitations, extended wars, embargos, and geographic limitations, these countries managed to provide basic health care, primary education, and clean water for their populations. In this unique book, the author puts these, and many other countries, under the microscope through a detailed examination of best practices and best outcomes. Anchored on landmark UN declarations, and based on numerous indices including the World Development Index, Global Health Disparities: Closing the Gap Through Good Governance covers relevant policies and laws in international health and offers many data, tables, and figures. Discussion questions are included in each chapter to be used as assignments, debate topics, and to facilitate classroom learning. Ideal for graduate level global/international public health courses as well as courses in international relations and international policy.