Author Description

The United Nations and its system of related agencies and programs is perpetually in crisis. World War I and World War II gave rise to ground-breaking efforts at international organization in 1919 and 1945, the UN today seems ill-equipped to deal with modern challenges to world order. Neither the end of Cold War nor the aftermath of 9/11 has led to creation of a "next generation" of multilateral institutions. But what is wrong with the UN, and how can we fix it? Is it possible to retrofit the world body? In this analysis, Thomas G. Weiss takes a diagnosis and cure approach to the world organization's inherent difficulties. He considers: problems of international leadership and decision making in a world of self-interested states; the diplomatic difficulties caused by artificial divisions between industrialized North and the global South; structural problems of managing UN's many overlapping jurisdictions, agencies, and bodies; and ever-demanding challenges of bureaucracy and leadership. He examines how to mitigate these maladies and points way to a more ideal world in which UN's institutional ills might be "cured." His remedies are based on specific and encouraging examples that could be replicated. Weiss contends that substantial change in intergovernmental institutions is plausible and possible. This book will spark debate amongst students, scholars, and policy-makers concerned with international politics, as well as anyone genuinely interested in the future of the United Nations and international cooperation--Publisher's description.