1 Why Do We Need International Organisations?
An international organisation is not a super-state with authority over its members: it is created by states, and answerable to them. It matters in two ways: some problems (disease, global warming) can only be solved if everyone cooperates; and countries in conflict can use it to discuss and resolve differences peacefully instead of going to war. In fact, most conflicts between states are resolved without war, and international organisations play an important, if unglamorous, role in that.
2 How the United Nations Was Founded
The UN’s predecessor was the League of Nations, set up after the First World War. It had some early success but could not prevent the Second World War (1939–45), in which far more people died than ever before. The UN was founded as its successor, immediately after that war.
By 2011 the UN had 193 member states, almost all of the world’s independent countries.
3 How the UN Is Structured
The General Assembly is the UN body where every member state gets one vote each. The Security Council deals with war, peace and security, and has 5 permanent members (US, Russia, UK, France, China: chosen as the most powerful states and WWII victors) plus 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
The veto power belongs only to the five permanent members. If even one of them casts a negative vote, the Security Council’s resolution is stalled, no matter how every other member voted.
The UN’s most visible figure is the Secretary-General, its representative head.
| Secretary-General | Country | Tenure | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trygve Lie | Norway | 1946–52 | Ceasefire between India and Pakistan on Kashmir |
| Dag Hammarskjöld | Sweden | 1953–61 | Suez Canal dispute; decolonisation of Africa |
| U Thant | Myanmar | 1961–71 | Cuban Missile Crisis; UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus |
| Kurt Waldheim | Austria | 1972–81 | Namibia and Lebanon; Bangladesh relief operations |
| Javier Perez de Cuellar | Peru | 1982–91 | Cyprus, Afghanistan, El Salvador; Falklands mediation |
| Boutros Boutros-Ghali | Egypt | 1992–96 | “An Agenda for Peace” report |
| Kofi Annan | Ghana | 1997–2006 | Global Fund against AIDS/TB/Malaria; 2001 Nobel Peace Prize |
| Ban Ki-moon | South Korea | 2007–16 | Climate change; Millennium/Sustainable Development Goals |
| António Guterres | Portugal | 2017–present | Ninth Secretary-General; former PM of Portugal; ex-UN Refugee Commissioner |
Beyond these, social and economic issues are handled by agencies such as the WHO (World Health Organisation), UNDP (Development Programme), UNHRC (Human Rights Commission), UNHCR (Refugees), UNICEF (Children’s Fund), and UNESCO (Education, Science and Culture).
4 Reforming the UN After the Cold War
The Cold War world for which the UN was designed in 1945 no longer exists: the USSR has collapsed, the US is the strongest power, China and India are rising, and new challenges (genocide, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change) demand attention. Reform faces the UN in two ways: reforming its structures and processes, and reviewing the issues within its jurisdiction.
(1) The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities. (2) Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests, dominated by a few powers. (3) It lacks equitable representation. On 1 January 1997, Secretary-General Kofi Annan began an inquiry into how the UN should be reformed.
Proposed criteria for new permanent or non-permanent Security Council members: each one raises its own hard question:
| Proposed criterion | The hard question it raises |
|---|---|
| Major economic power | How big does an economy need to be to qualify? |
| Major military power | Should military strength alone decide a permanent seat? |
| Large UN budget contribution | Could a state effectively buy its way onto the Council? |
| Large population | Is a big population an asset, or actually a liability? |
| Respect for democracy & human rights | Would such states even be effective as Council members? |
| Represents world diversity | By geography? Economic system? “Civilisation”? No agreement on how. |
The Security Council’s membership was last expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965: but the number of permanent members has never changed since 1945. There is also debate over abolishing the veto itself, seen by some as against democratic and sovereign equality; but permanent members are unlikely to agree, and without the veto the great powers might lose interest in the UN altogether.
Creation of a Peacebuilding Commission; acceptance of the international community’s responsibility when a government fails to protect its own citizens; establishment of a Human Rights Council (operational since 19 June 2006); agreement on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); condemnation of terrorism in all forms; creation of a Democracy Fund; and agreement to wind up the Trusteeship Council.
5 India and the UN Reforms
India supports a strengthened, revitalised UN and wants development placed at the centre of its agenda, since India sees development as a precondition for peace and security. India’s core concern: the Security Council’s composition stayed static even as General Assembly membership expanded hugely with newly independent, mostly developing, countries, so India argues these countries should also help shape Security Council decisions.
India’s case for a permanent seat
- Most populous country: about one-fifth of the world’s people
- World’s largest democracy
- Long, substantial record in UN peacekeeping
- Regular, unfailing financial contributions to the UN
- Growing economic power on the world stage
Objections raised against India
- Pakistan and some other countries oppose it
- Concerns over India’s nuclear weapons capability
- Fear that India–Pakistan tension would make it an ineffective member
- Including India may force accommodating Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa too
- Africa and South America currently have no permanent seat at all
6 The UN in a Unipolar World
Can the UN balance a world with a single dominant power, the United States? US power is hard to check for several reasons: it is the sole superpower since the USSR’s collapse; it is the UN’s single largest financial contributor; the UN is physically headquartered on US soil; many UN staff are American nationals; and its veto lets it block anything against its interests, including influencing the choice of Secretary-General.
Even so, the UN gives the rest of the world an arena to engage the US in dialogue and shape its attitudes and policies: even if it cannot truly “balance” American power. The chapter’s conclusion: the UN is an imperfect body, but as the world grows more interdependent through technology, the need for an organisation like it will only increase.
| Organisation | Set up | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| IMF: International Monetary Fund | : | Oversees international financial institutions; 190 members, but votes are unequal: the G-7 alone hold over 41% of the votes |
| World Bank | 1944 | Loans and grants to developing countries for health, education, infrastructure and governance; criticised for attaching strict free-market conditions |
| WTO: World Trade Organisation | 1995 | Sets global trade rules; successor to GATT; 164 members; major powers shape rules to their advantage |
| IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency | 1957 | Promotes peaceful use of nuclear energy; inspects facilities to prevent military use |
| Amnesty International | NGO | Campaigns for human rights worldwide; publishes reports critical of governments |
| Human Rights Watch | NGO | Research and advocacy on human rights; helped ban landmines and child soldiers, and establish the ICC |
- The UN was founded 24 October 1945, successor to the League of Nations, after WWII
- Security Council: 5 permanent members (US, Russia, UK, France, China) with veto + 10 non-permanent members
- 1992 UNGA resolution: 3 complaints: outdated realities, Western dominance, lacks equitable representation
- Council last expanded 11→15 in 1965; number of permanent members unchanged since 1945
- 2005 reforms: Peacebuilding Commission, Human Rights Council, MDGs, Democracy Fund, Trusteeship Council wound up
- India’s case: population, democracy, peacekeeping record, financial contributions; objections: Pakistan, nuclear concerns, other claimants
- US power in the UN is hard to check, financial weight, HQ location, veto, but UN still offers a dialogue arena
- IMF, World Bank, WTO, IAEA are inter-governmental; Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are NGOs
- 1 MarkOn what date was the UN founded?
- 1 MarkWhich five countries are permanent members of the Security Council?
- 1 MarkWho is the current UN Secretary-General?
- 1 MarkIn which year was the WTO set up, and as successor to what?
- 1 MarkIn which year was the IAEA established?
- 1 MarkWhat is the veto power?
- 1 MarkWhen was the UN Security Council last expanded, and to how many members?
- 1 MarkName the UN’s predecessor organisation.
- 2 MarksWhy is an international organisation not a “super-state”?
- 2 MarksState any two of the 2005 reform steps agreed at the UN’s 60th anniversary summit.
- 2 MarksGive any two reasons India offers for its claim to a permanent Security Council seat.
- 4 MarksExplain the three complaints made against the Security Council in the 1992 UNGA resolution.
- 4 MarksWhy is it difficult to reach agreement on new criteria for permanent Security Council membership?
- 4 MarksWhy is US power difficult to check within the United Nations?
- 4 MarksDistinguish between the World Bank and the IMF.
- 6 MarksDiscuss the case for and against India’s claim to permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
- 6 MarksExplain the reform of the UN’s structures and processes after the Cold War.
- 6 Marks“The UN is an imperfect body, but the world would be worse off without it.” Explain this statement.
- 1 MarkThe UN Security Council has how many permanent members?
(a) 4(b) 5(c) 10(d) 15 - 1 MarkThe WTO is the successor to:
(a) IMF(b) League of Nations(c) GATT(d) World Bank - 1 MarkThe IAEA implements which US President’s “Atoms for Peace” proposal?
(a) Roosevelt(b) Truman(c) Eisenhower(d) Kennedy - 1 MarkThe Security Council was last expanded from 11 to 15 members in:
(a) 1945(b) 1965(c) 1992(d) 2005 - 1 MarkThe current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is from:
(a) Ghana(b) South Korea(c) Portugal(d) Sweden
Options: (a) Both true, R correctly explains A · (b) Both true, R does not explain A · (c) A true, R false · (d) A false, R true.
- 1 Mark
Assertion (A): Only permanent members of the Security Council hold the veto power.
Reason (R): Non-permanent members serve two-year terms and represent all continents. - 1 Mark
Assertion (A): The United Nations can fully balance US power in world politics.
Reason (R): The US is the UN’s single largest financial contributor and holds veto power.