With updates throughout, this newly revised sixth edition serves as the definitive text for courses on the United Nations. Built around three critical themes in international relations—international peace and security, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and building peace through sustainable development—The United Nations and Changing World Politics guides readers through the complexity of politics and history of the UN. Students of all levels will learn what the UN is, how it operates, and what its relationships are with external actors and institutions, from sovereign states to nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations now playing important roles in world politics. Featuring a new chapter on evolving security operations and a new foreword by Ramesh Thakur, the sixth edition includes updated discussions of the UN’s actions in Darfur and Chad, the tenure of Ban Ki-moon, and the global economic and financial meltdown.

Contents

Part One. International Peace and Security
1. The Theory of UN Collective Security
2. UN Security Efforts During the Cold War
3. UN Security Operations After the Cold War
4. Evolving Security Operations: Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, and Sudan
5. The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century

Part Two. Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
6. The United Nations, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Affairs Theory
7. The United Nations and Applying Human Rights Standards
8. Change, the United Nations, and Human Rights

Part Three. Sustainable Human Development
9. Theories of Development at the United Nations
10. Sustainable Development as Process: UN Organizations and Norms
11. The UN, Development, and Globalization

12. Conclusion: Learning from Change