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Essay Subject: History, purpose, founding in 1945, structure & organization, functions, membership, strengths & weaknesses in promoting world peace.... More...

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Paper Abstract: History, purpose, founding in 1945, structure & organization, functions, membership, strengths & weaknesses in promoting world peace. Paper Introduction: After World War I, an idea was formulated that had the diplomatic intentions of mediating governmental conflicts and keeping world peace. Unfortunately for many, that organization did not become an effective international tool, and the conflicts in the 1920s and 1930s resulted in the rise of fascism and ultimately, World War II. At the heart of the League of Nations was the desire for an international conference, made up of all the nations of the world, that would help to buffer any disagreements and have the power to resolve tense situations and prevent war. There were many reasons that the League failed, among which the failure of the United States to join and support the organization has reigned supreme. Whatever the reason, however, the idea of the League and the organizational precedents it engendered, led to the formation of a new world conference Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Security Council is composed of eleven members ofthe United Nations, with China, France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain,and the United States as the permanent members. It may be characterized as thebody of the U.N., and is the place where all member nations meet to discussvarious problems. This paper will provide an overview of the history and structure ofthe United Nations, elaborate on its functions and present day membership,and conclude with an analysis of its effectiveness and viability for futuresuccess or failure under the rubric of an international governmentalsystem. Most important, it was during the San FranciscoConference that the debating character of the United Nations first began.Nevertheless, the delegates did sign a Charter to establish theorganization and immediately took steps to empower a United NationsSecurity Council (Luard A History 67-9). After the drafting of the Charter, the members of the initial groupelected a Secretary-General. Sixth, there has been adrastic increase in small members, having equal voting power, but ineffect, weakening the authority of the organization. Its founders knew that the only way theorganization would be able to function on an international level was tomandate certain powers and responsibilities. To the United Nations, thisprimarily means that the Charter is focused toward the goal ofinternational peace and security. and George T. . and the needs ofcertain economically disadvantaged countries cannot form the backdrop of afunctioning U.N. Its primary responsibilityis as a "general system of international organization because it is adefinitely constituted agency, with an established continuity, generalityof membership, and broad functional scope" (Vandenbosch and Hogan 95). The UN Under Attack. Structurally, the basic characteristics of the United Nations fallwell within the system of an international organization, ostensibly owingallegiance to no particular country or region. Thus, aside from a number of organizations that deal with hunger,education, and health, the United Nations of the late twentieth centuryappears, by most accounts, to be a political albatross - effective intheory, ineffective in practice. The United Nations: Background,Organization, Functions, Activities. Brookfield:Gower P, 1988.Luard, Evan. . New York:St. From almost the beginning of the Second World War, with the lessonslearned from the failure of the League of Nations to establish anysemblance of an enforceable international peace, most diplomats andpoliticians realized that a new international organization would be neededat the war's conclusion. How UN Decisions are Made. Although the United Nationssent troops under its jurisdiction into the Korean Conflict, and they haveproven somewhat effective in Middle Eastern situations, one of the mostserious conflicts of the post-war world, Vietnam, remained virtuallyunaffected by the United Nations (Luard A History 229-74; Paxman and Boggspassim). This position was not to be, a mere administrator and backroom boy, but. First, with moderntransportation and communication advances, the world has become muchsmaller. and J. Eighth, there are definiteeconomic differences between member countries in the U.N. In fact,unless blatant opposition exists, almost any country may join the U.N.This, too, causes problems for the larger and more stable countries, sincethe needs of these new members are often at odds with the monetary andeconomic desires of the larger countries in the General Assembly. It should be far easier for [the U.N.] to call on the use of forceto resist aggression, since all members were now clearly pledged to obey"demands from the Security Council (Luard A History 86). At the heart of theLeague of Nations was the desire for an international conference, made upof all the nations of the world, that would help to buffer anydisagreements and have the power to resolve tense situations and preventwar. He was robust and outspoken in style, a quality then regarded as an asset, though it ultimately proved a heavy liability to Lie (Luard A History 67-9). London: Leyden, 1961.Harrod, Jeffrey and Nico Schrijver, eds. Third, the sphere-of-influence dogmathat resulted from Cold War ideology has severely cramped many of thefunctions of the U.N. In effect, this means that any hint ofaggression, whether by member nations or not, is perceived as a directthreat to world peace and should be dealt with accordingly. By 1943, there was more explicit discussion about the subject, andthe United States was seen as one of the driving forces behind the neworganization. Kaufman. . The remaining four groups of the United Nations are the Economic andSecurity Council, the organ that deals with the improvement of economiclife worldwide; the Trusteeship Council, which functions as an auxiliaryorgan to the General Assembly by supervising the administration ofnonstrategic territories, and to the Security Council in the case ofstrategic areas; the Secretariat, which consists of the Secretary-Generaland the entire staff of the United Nations and is the administrative bodyof the organization; and finally the International Court of Justice, whichgives advisory opinions on cases of an international nature, and decidescases brought before it (Vandenbosch and Hogan 152-2 2). These five were chosenbecause of their international position after World War II, and have thepower to veto legislation and form the crux of any major decision by theU.N (Vandenbosch and Hogan 111-151). Since the United Nations Charter indicated that "membership in theUnited Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept theobligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of theOrganization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations," themembership had grown in the early 198 s to well over 1 nations. Martin's P,1982.________. In April 1945, there was an organizational meeting held in SanFrancisco to discuss the initial structure and membership of the UnitedNations. Yet, even member countries refuse to allow aninternational order to get in the way of their own national interests(Laurd The United 4-8). . The basic argument is somewhat of a Catch-22. The United Nations has six principal organs, and all were establishedunder the dictum of collective security. Because of this, the U.N. Thus, "a totally new security system had now beenestablished, very much on the lines the great powers had originally planned. Second, many of the conflicts in the modern politicalspectrum are internal problems and the United Nations (Article 2-7)specifically forbids direct U.N. Fifth, some of the major powers that are members ofthe U.N. was set up originally to prevent war.However, the modern world has a myriad of problems that have little to dowith war or peace (the environment, disease) and the U.N. Ninth, the U.N. In the period after the war,many of the major powers were more than willing to grant the United Nationscertain powers in the hopes of keeping the peace. There are a number of opinions of the effectiveness and contemporaryfunctions of the United Nations. New York: St. is not always able to function as itwas intended. Bloomington: Indiaha UP, 1969.Hadwen, J.G. Finally, the primaryfunction of the U.N. Voting in the Security Council. The United Nations wasorganized as an international peacekeeping body in the aftermath of adevastating world war. As apublic forum, however, the United Nations does seem to have some effect,particularly on crises situations and world public opinion (Vandenbosch andHogan 142-3; Bailey 75-83; and Hadwen and Kaufman passim). was to function as a watchdog forhuman rights, yet the doctrine of nonintervention into local affairs oftenhinders that function. Whatever the reason, however, the idea of the League andthe organizational precedents it engendered, led to the formation of a newworld conference system called the United Nations (Vandenbosch and Hogan 7 -4). Similarly, most had no intention of reviving theoutmoded and ineffective League, and believed that a new organization,supported by all major powers and joined by every country in the world,would signal a new mind-set and desire for peace and security throughoutthe so-called Global Village (Luard 17). (The man elected to this post), Trygve Lie, unlike his successors, was a politician by training and experience. a forceful figure who would bang together the heads of fractious statesmen, and play a prominent part on the world scene, demanding action by the world body when necessary. The United Nations - How It Works and What It Does. Functionally, the United Nations was set up to keep world peace andbecome a dominant international forum for the settlement of disputes.However, there are ten major trends in modern world politics that havehelped shape the function of the U.N. oppose it as a strong power in itself. Fourth, the U.N. Certain drastic changes would benecessary in order to change this situation, and are, at the present,highly unlikely. At the forefront of the criticism of theorganization is the perception that the United Nations is a theoreticallysound organization, but that it lacks any real power and cannot effectivelydeal with the problems of the modern world. For the public, moreover, the United Nations could, ifallowed, function as an important component in world peace. . itself. Hogan. precludes the use of national sovereignty ininternational affairs. However, as the realityof the Cold War began to take hold, most of the major powers found thatthey could deal more effectively with the international situations byeither bypassing the United Nations or giving it only cursoryresponsibility (Harrod and Schrijver 13-16). Boggs. The new organization now set up a general guide for its members andmeetings, and established the headquarters at the controversial sight ofNew York City. With the support of the British government, the UnitedStates, in fact, emerged as the leader in establishing the organization.Many believed that "the League had failed partly because some of the bigpowers played no role. is notnecessarily equipped to deal with these problems. There were many reasons that the League failed, among which thefailure of the United States to join and support the organization hasreigned supreme. Westport: Greenwood P, 197 .----------------------- 9 The first of the six organs of the U.N., the General Assembly,consists of all members of the United Nations, and is the only one of theprincipal organs for which this is true. Seventh, superpowerpolitics between the United States and Soviet Union has downgraded the veryfunctions the U.N. After World War I, an idea was formulated that had the diplomaticintentions of mediating governmental conflicts and keeping world peace.Unfortunately for many, that organization did not become an effectiveinternational tool, and the conflicts in the 192 s and 193 s resulted inthe rise of fascism and ultimately, World War II. This conference had many items on its agenda, but none morepressing than a discussion of some of the events that had recently takenplace at the Yalta Conference between the United States, Great Britain, andthe Soviet Union. A History of the United Nations. The United Nations: A Reassessment.Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1973.Vandenbosch, Amry and Williard N. was to have performed. Martin's P, 1979.Paxman, John M. intervention into internal affairs untilthey impact on international events. Works CitedBailey, S. If the UN was to succeed there must be a dominantplace within it for the great powers" (Luard A History 18-19). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.