The United Nations and the International System

1968 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 902-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oran R. Young
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Dual Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Impact

A notable gap in existing analyses of the United Nations is the relative absence of systematic treatments of the links between the Organization itself and the international system in which it operates. These links constitute a complex dual relationship, both sides of which are worthy of serious analyses. The functions and activities of the United Nations are molded by the fundamental dimensions and dynamic processes of the international system. At the same time, however, the United Nations is itself an actor in the system and it is sometimes able to influence its environment significantly. Throughout the history of the United Nations the impact of the systemic environment on the Organization has far surpassed the impact of the Organization on the system. Nevertheless, the influence of the United Nations on world politics should not be underestimated, especially in its more subtle and intangible forms.

scholarly journals Diplomatic protection in international law and the United Nations

2013 ◽  
pp. 667-681
Author(s):  
Bojan Milisavljevic
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Diplomatic Protection ◽  
History Of ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Law Commission

The paper deals with the issue of the diplomatic protection in international law and its development through the history of the international community. In this sense, the author investigates the practice of states regarding the application of diplomatic protection and the steps taken by the International Law Commission of the United Nations on the codification of this area. In 2004 International Law Commission adopted at first reading a full set of draft articles. In this paper is presented judicial practice, especially of the International Court of Justice, in the field of diplomatic protection in order to evaluate whether the approach of the Court to diplomatic protection has become more human-rights oriented in the last few years. Author presents the development of customary law rules relating to diplomatic protection and its transition into a whole system of rules through the work of the International Law Commission. In this sense, these are the basic stages in the codification of rules on diplomatic protection and the United Nations contribution to the protection of the rights of foreign nationals. This article points the development of universal and regional mechanisms to protect human rights and highlights the impact of those mechanisms on traditional measures of diplomatic protection.

The United Nations

2018 ◽  
pp. 2-40
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Weiss ◽  
Sam Daws
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Analytical Precision ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
Technological Opportunities

This chapter makes the case for greater analytical precision and historical reflection about the balance between change and continuity within the United Nations since its founding in 1945. The most pertinent changes fall under four headings: the emergence of new threats and new technological opportunities; the increasing role of non-state actors; the reformulation of state sovereignty; and the emergence of a multipolar world. This chapter examines the nature and role of each of these in today’s international system and urges readers to keep in mind three distinct analytical problems: defining the nature of change; determining the meaning of success and failure; and tracking the ups-and-downs in world politics. It also introduces the forty-four chapters that follow in The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations.

The International Civil Service: Historical Development and Potential for the 21st Century

2003 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udoh Elijah Udom
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
International System ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The United Nations

By-products of World War I and II were the creation of the League of Nations (1919) and subsequently the United Nations (1945). The primary objective of both these global organizations (past, present and future) has been to make the world a better place for humanity. Principally, this has meant working with member states to prevent wars and to carry out humanitarian activities wherever they are needed. Right from the time of the League of Nations, carrying out global mandate of this nature necessitated the creation of international civil service (ICS) to be composed of competent men and women, to assist the world public service to achieve it global mandate. This article argues that ICS is an indispensable instrument of the orderly government of mankind, and must be preserved. The importance of ICS has never been so crucial than today when the world socio-political landscape is more turbulent than in the 1940s when both the ICS and the United Nations were created. The article begins by tracing the history of the ICS from 1919 to the present. It examines the principles of ICS enunciated by the Council of the League of Nations In 1920 and enshrined in the U.N. Charter 25 years later. Here again, the sanctity of the ICS, argued in this article, depends upon upholding these principles by all players in the international system.

scholarly journals The hierarchical society: the politics of self-determination and the constitution of new states after 1919

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-396
Author(s):  
Maja Spanu
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Society ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
World War ◽  
New States ◽  
History Of

International Relations scholarship disconnects the history of the so-called expansion of international society from the presence of hierarchies within it. In contrast, this article argues that these developments may in fact be premised on hierarchical arrangements whereby new states are subject to international tutelage as the price of acceptance to international society. It shows that hierarchies within international society are deeply entrenched with the politics of self-determination as international society expands. I substantiate this argument with primary and secondary material on the Minority Treaty provisions imposed on the new states in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe admitted to the League of Nations after World War I. The implications of this claim for International Relations scholarship are twofold. First, my argument contributes to debates on the making of the international system of states by showing that the process of expansion of international society is premised on hierarchy, among and within states. Second, it speaks to the growing body of scholarship on hierarchy in world politics by historicising where hierarchies come from, examining how diverse hierarchies are nested and intersect, and revealing how different actors navigate these hierarchies.

Dependency in Africa: Stages of African Political Economy

1983 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amechi Okolo
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
International System ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The West ◽  
Cheap Labour ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
First Contact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This paper traces the history of the relationship between Africa and the West since their first contact brought about by the outward thrust of the West, under the impetus of rising capitalism, in search of cheap labour and cheap raw material for its industries and expanding markets for its industrial products, both of which could be better ensured through domination and exploitation. The paper identifies five successive stages that African political economy has passed through under the impact of this relationship, each phase qualitatively different from the other but all having the common characteristic of domination-dependence syndrome, and each phase having been dictated by the dynamics of capitalism in different eras and by the dominant forces in the changing international system. Its finding is that the way to the latest stage, the dependency phase, was paved by the progressive proletarianization of the African peoples and the maintenance of an international peonage system. It ends by indicating the direction in which Africa can make a beginning to break out of dependency and achieve liberation.

The Impact of the Women's Decade on Policies, Programs and Empowerment of Women in Kenya

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Maria Nzomo
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Women In Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Kenyan Women ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Women’S Organizations

The 1985 Nairobi Conference to close the United Nations decade dedicated to women of the world caught Kenyan women (and men) by storm. Indeed, the majority of Kenyan women did not know, until the eve of this conference, that there had been an entire decade dedicated to them, and committed to the achievement of Equality, Development, and Peace. However, the Kenyan policy makers and the enlightened among Kenyan women, especially leaders of women's organizations, were not only fully aware of the decade's developments, but had in various ways participated and contributed to it. On its part, the Kenya government by the end of the decade, had adopted a Women in Development (WID) policy position and created and/or promoted national machineries to develop and coordinate programs for women.

The world’s repository at 75: a history of the United Nations Archives*

Comma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Gelfand
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Significant Events ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Administrative Structures

Seventy-five years ago (1945), the United Nations (UN) was founded in San Francisco by 50 nations. There, a small archives unit served to assemble the first records of the organization; this was the first iteration of today’s Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS). Throughout its history, the fortunes of the UN Archives have waxed and waned, while its role has continuously evolved. Trying to carve out a place for itself within the largest international organization in the world, its physical and administrative structures have undergone profound changes, as has its mission, number of staff, the type of records it holds and its users. This paper examines significant events in the development of the UN Archives, the challenges it has faced and what may be learned from them.

scholarly journals BRICKS, BRANDING, AND THE EVERYDAY: DEFINING GREATNESS AT THE UNITED NATIONS PLAZA IN SAN FRANCISCO

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Georgia Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Public Space ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
History Of ◽  
The United Nations

After over a decade of reports, designs, and public outreach, the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco was dedicated in 1976. Using historical documents such as government reports, design guidelines, letters, meeting minutes, and newspaper articles from archives, I argue that while the construction of the UN Plaza has failed to completely transform the social and economic life of the area, it succeeds in creating a genuinely public space. The history of the UN Plaza can serve both as a cautionary tale for those interested in changing property values purely through changing design, and as a standard of success in making a space used by a true cross-section of urban society.

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