The United Nations, Peace and Security: From Collective Security to the Responsibility to Protect

Description

Ending humanitarian atrocities has become as important for the United Nations as preventing interstate war. This book examines the transformation of UN operations, analysing its changing role and structure. Ramesh Thakur 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 United States, with its capacity to use force and project power, and the United Nations, as the centre of the international law enforcement system. He asserts the central importance of the rule of law and a rules-based order focused on the United Nations as the foundation of a civilised system of international relations. This book will be of interest to students of the United Nations and international organisations in politics, law and international relations departments, as well as policymakers in governmental and non-governmental international organisations.

Professor Ramesh Thakur is Director of the Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (CNND) at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. His recent publications include Global Governance and the UN: An Unfinished Journey (2010), Blood and Borders: The Responsibility to Protect and the Problem of the Kin-State (2011) and The Responsibility to Protect: Norms, Laws and the Use of Force in International Politics (2011). He has also published in many journals.

'[This] is an ambitious, up-to-date and timely book that is set in a contemporary post-9/11 context. ... The book will benefit those interested in international politics, international organization, international law, international security, human rights, and peace and conflict studies.' Arenla Jamir, Academic Council on the United Nations Systems