The Role Of The United Nations In The Maintenance Of International Peace And Security

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Following the establishment of the United Nations (UN) after the Second World War, there has been ongoing debate and conflicting opinions with regard to the ability of the ‘universal international organisation’ to uphold peace and security in the international system (Muravchik 2006; Melber 2011; Ryan 2000: 1-4; Weiss and Zach 2012: 374-375). There are several scholars and professionals who argue that the UN has been – and will continue to be – a ‘central institution’ with a ‘critical role’ in the maintenance of international peace and security (Roberts and Kingsbury 1994: 9 Donlon 1996: 576). This view reflects the central argument of neoliberal institutionalist scholars, who assert that international organisations or institutions are independent …show more content…

Secondly, I will describe the core criticisms of the ability of the UN, and specifically the UN Security Council, to uphold international peace and security, including [what criticisms/arguments will be addressed]. Thirdly, I will address the main contributions of the UN to the maintenance of international peace and security, with particular emphasis on [what evidence/examples are used]. Subsequently, I will briefly discuss the possible reforms of the UN that have been proposed in order to improve the capabilities of the UN to respond to threats to international peace and security in the twenty-first century. Finally, conclusions will be made that the support Hammarskjöld’s central claim that the UN, while not always effective, has a significant role in the maintenance of international peace and …show more content…

The UNSC has responsibility for international peace and security, as stated in Charter Article 24(1), and is widely viewed to be the ‘most powerful constituent body of the UN’ (Mahapatra 2016: 48; Mingst and Karns 2007: 84-85). The specific powers of the UNSC are codified in Chapters VI-VII of the Charter, which empower the UNSC to ‘ensure that states do not resort to war to resolve conflicts and the world remains peaceful’ (Mahapatra 2016: 48). A critical feature of the UNSC is that it is an ‘exclusive forum’, in which the victors of the Second World War (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) comprise the five permanent members, with the power to ‘veto any resolution’ (Weiss and Zach 2012: 376). The veto power was provided as a ‘tactical compromise’ in order to ensure great power cooperation, which is widely viewed to be one of the major ‘pitfalls’ of the failed League of Nations (Weiss and Zach 2012: 376). In addition, the UNSC also includes ten non-permanent or ‘rotating

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