Imperfect Unions illustrates how security institutions such as NATO, United Nations and ASEAN change and why they matter. In order to understand contemporary security issues, one must also understand security institutions. It illustrates how institutionalist theory can enrich the important field of security studies.

International organizations (IOs) that focus on refugees are finding themselves spread increasingly thin. As the scale of displacement reaches historic levels-protracted refugee situations now average 26 years-organizations are staying for years on end, often working well beyond their original mandates. In some cases, IOs may even act as a substitute for the state. This book considers the conditions under which surrogacy occurs and what it means for the organization's influence on the state. It looks specifically at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a surrogate state in protracted refugee situations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Drawing on international relations literature and empirical studies of UNHCR, Miller asks how and when UNHCR takes on surrogacy, and what effect this has on its ability to influence how a host state treats refugees. The book develops a framework for understanding IOs at the domestic level and presents a counterintuitive finding: IO surrogacy actually leads to less influence on the state. In other words, where UNHCR behaves like a state, it is less able to influence a host state's refugee policies. UNHCR provides an excellent example of an IO working on multiple levels, making this book of great interest to practitioners and policymakers working on refugee-related issues, and scholars of forced migration, international relations, international organizations, and UNHCR.

This book provides a comprehensive empirical analysis of the United Nations intervention in the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1947. In his structured and exhaustive analysis, the author presents a long term perspective on the UN intervention in the conflict and explains its evolution during the last sixty years. He draws on a wealth of quantitative data to provide a complete picture of resolutions addressed to the Arab-Israeli conflict by the General Assembly and the Security Council, the mediation activity, and the UN peace missions in the area. Through his analysis, Di Mauro addresses such questions as: Why did the United Nations have different involvement and efforts of interventions in the conflict? How did the role of the UN change during the dispute, and why did it change? Is there still a role for the UN in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process? Offering a contribution to both to the studies of UN intervention in conflict resolution and, more broadly, to the UN role in the international system, The UN and the Arab-Israeli Conflict will be of great interest to International Relation scholars and students, but also appreciable by historians, political scientists, methodologists and all the social scientists interested in the Palestine question and the United Nations.

"Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations" analyzes the broad national, regional, cultural, and international contexts of peacekeeping. Special focus is placed on such contemporary issues as human rights, peacebuilding from below, conflict resolution theory, civilian peacekeeping, gender considerations, and women in peacekeeping. The coverage is enhanced by a chronology, charts, maps, a list of acronyms, an annotated bibliography, and references to key websites.

Since the 1950s, European integration has included ever more countries with ever-softening borders between them. In its apparent reversal of integration and its recreation of borders, Brexit intensifies deep-seated tensions, both institutional and territorial, within and between the constitutional orders of the United Kingdom and Ireland. In this book, leading scholars from the UK and Ireland assess the pressures exerted by Brexit, from legal, historical, and political perspectives. This book explores the territorial pressures within the UK constitution, connecting them to the status of Northern Ireland before exploring how analogous territorial pressures might be addressed in a united Ireland. The book also critically analyses the Brexit process within the UK, drawing on Irish comparative examples, to assess unresolved tensions between popular mandate, legislative democracy, and executive responsibility. Through practical application, this book explores how constitutions function under the most intense political pressures.

This book evaluates the national implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in ASEAN. Working with country-specific research teams, the contributors compiled detailed case-studies of CRPD implementation in each country in ASEAN. This book presents a detailed overview of the problem, the relevant literature, and the conceptual framework, and then it explores the implementation of the CRPD in each of the ten countries in Southeast Asia. Details include the factors that influenced each country to ratify the CRPD, the focal point structure of implementation, the independent mechanism established to monitor the implementation, and the civil society organizations involved. This book also evaluates the implications of CRPD implementation for human rights and development in ASEAN, including the degree of institutionalized support for persons with disabilities, the development objectives of the CRPD against the strategic objectives of the ASEAN economic community and the broader ASEAN community, and the way these developments compare with those in other countries and regions. Working with country-specific research teams, the editors compiled detailed case-studies of CRPD implementation on each country in ASEAN. This book presents a detailed overview of the problem and the relevant literature. The contributors also offer conclusions on the research and national and ASEAN-level recommendations for moving forward.

In 1991 South Korea, along with North Korea, was made an official member of the UN. Using international relations theory, this book begins by looking at the struggle and eventual impact of the membership on the two countries post division in 1948. It investigates the predicted outcomes prior to joining, and whether these outcomes have come to fruition nationally and on a global scale. Following this, there is focus on South Korea's ability to exert an influence on international decision making in world-politics, and how this affected inter-Korean relations. Importantly, analysis looks at how participation in the Security Council (1996-1997 and 2013-2014) further extended the country's capabilities to adopt resolutions, including those affecting North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes and human rights record. South Korea's participation in peacekeeping operations, Koreans appointed to high positions within the UN system and payments of the UN budget are also investigated. The study concludes with discussion of the role of the UN as a forum for international contacts and for providing knowledge otherwise unavailable to non-members.South Korea in the United Nations is unique in its analysis of South Korea's relations with the UN prior to and, above all, after 1991, thereby enhancing understanding of the significance of its UN membership as well as the importance of being a UN member. Suitable for scholars in Korean studies, international relations and East Asian politics, it can also be used as a reference work by policy-makers in the region, and for students and professionals working within the UN system.

The United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations (UNCTC) was established in 1975 and abolished in 1992. It was an early effort by the UN to address the overlapping issues of national sovereignty, corporate responsibility and global governance. These issues have since multiplied and deepened with globalization. This book recounts the UNCTC experience and its lessons for international organizations. This book is not only an insider perspective by two former staff but also a collective memoir of the UNCTC as an international organization that attempted with varying success to defuse the clash between corporates and states that erupted in the turbulent 1970s. This personal account of the UNCTC is a mixture of history, analysis, reflections, and critical commentaries, told in different voices that penetrate the bland persona of international civil service. In this retelling, the authors seek to address misconceptions amongst the more general literature and to seek to provide accounts of both its positive and negative features. The UNCTC experience recounted in this book holds valuable lessons for international organization and will be of interest to student, scholars and practitioners alike.

This open access book examines why Japan discontinued its quarter-century history of troop contribution to UN Peacekeeping Operations (1992-2017). Japan had deployed its troops as UN peacekeepers since 1992, albeit under a constitutional limit on weapons use. Japan's peacekeepers began to focus on engineering work as its strength, while also trying to relax the constraints on weapons use, although to a minimal extent. In 2017, however, Japan suddenly withdrew its engineering corps from South Sudan, and has contributed no troops since then. Why? The book argues that Japan could not match the increasing "robustness" of recent peacekeeping operations and has begun to seek a new direction, such as capacity-building support.

This edited volume offers a thorough review of peacekeeping theory and reality in contemporary contexts, and aligns the two to help inform practice. Recent UN peacekeeping operations have challenged the traditional peacekeeping principles of consent, impartiality and the minimum use of force. The pace and scope of these changes have now reached a tipping point, as the new mandates are fundamentally challenging the continued validity of the UN peacekeeping's core principles and identity. In response the volume analyses the growing gap between these actual practices and existing UN peacekeeping doctrine, exploring how it undermines the effectiveness of UN operations, and endangers lives, arguing that a common doctrine is a critical starting point for effective multi-national operations. In order to determine the degree to which this general principle applies to the current state of UN peacekeeping, this book: Provides a review of conceptual and doctrinal developments in UN peacekeeping operations through a historical perspective Examines the debate related to peace operations doctrine and concepts among key Member States Focuses on the actual practice of peacekeeping by conducting case studies of several UN peacekeeping missions in order to identify gaps between practice and doctrine Critically analyses gaps between emerging peacekeeping practice and existing doctrine Recommends that the UN moves beyond the peacekeeping principles and doctrine of the past Combining empirical case-based studies on UN peace operations, with studies on the views and policies of key UN Security Council members that generate these mandates, and views of key contributors of UN peacekeepers, this volume will be of great use to policy-makers; UN officials and peace operations practitioners; and academics working on peace and conflict/security studies, international organizations and conflict management.

In the emerging narrative of sustainable development in Asia, the essential challenge is to reduce the use of natural resources and environmental degradation alongside the increasing demand for goods and services. To achieve this, Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, aims at reconciling the three goals of minimising the extraction of natural resources from the environment, limiting waste and emissions over the life cycle of goods and services and improving human development and wellbeing.Sustainable Asia: Supporting the Transition to Sustainable Consumption and Production in Asian Developing Countries provides an overview and analysis of the current status of SCP in Asian developing countries. The book focuses on projects supported by the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia Programme, a regional development cooperation programme promoting the adoption of SCP practices among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consumer groups in Asia since 2007.For readers looking for a comprehensive introduction to the topic of SCP together with a detailed analysis of the current developmental situation in various Asian developing countries and key sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, renewable energy and agriculture, this book is an invaluable tool. The book examines in detail the SCP approaches and innovative solutions demonstrated by the SWITCH-Asia supported projects in Asia and thus serves as a reference for practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike.

This book chronicles the story of the United Nations under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the decade 2007-2016. Marcel Jesensky provides a compelling account of the organization's activities and Ban Ki-moon's role in reconciling the aims, principles and prerogatives of his office, the organization and its Charter with the demands, interests and power of the member states. Today, as never before, the concept of the post-World War II multilateral framework of international relations tries to harmonize the claims for its reform and re-evaluation with growing demands to manage the globalized world. This work, invaluable for readers interested in global governance, multilateral diplomacy, the United Nations and international relations, presents its subject in historical context and provides answers to assist its understanding.

This volume explores the implementation of key gender policies in international peace and security, following the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 in October 2000, the first thematic resolution on Women, Peace and Security. How should we understand women's participation in peace processes and in peace operations? And what forms of gendered security dynamics are present in armed conflict and international interventions? These questions represent central themes of protection and participation that the international community has to address in order to implement UNSCR 1325. Thus far, the implementation has often employed varying approaches related to gender mainstreaming, a third theme of the resolution. Yet, there is a dearth of systematic data which until recently has restricted the ability of researchers to evaluate the progress in implementation and impact of UNSCR 1325. By engaging with both empirics and critical theory, the authors of this edited volume make important contributions to the gender, peace and security agenda. They identify some of the problems of implementing UNSC 1325 and offer a sobering assessment of progress of implementation and insights into how to advance our understanding through systematic research. Many of the chapters are focused on operational aspects of UNSCR 1325, but all also engage with the theoretical underpinnings of UNSCR 1325 to bring forth central debates on more fundamental challenges to the development of knowledge in the fields of gender, peace and security. This book will be of much interest to students of gender studies, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general.

Security Council resolutions have undergone an important evolution over the last two decades. While continuing its traditional role of determining state-specific threats to peace and engaging accordingly in various peaceful or coercive measures, the Security Council has also adopted resolutions that have effectively imposed legal obligations on all United Nations member states. This book seeks to move away from the discussions of whether the Security Council - in the current composition and working methods - is representative, capable or productive. Rather it assesses whether legislative activity by the Security Council can be beneficial to international peace and security. The authors examine and critique the capacities of the Security Council to address thematic international threats - such as terrorism, weapons proliferations, targeting of civilians, recruitment of child soldiers, piracy - as an alternative to the traditional model of addressing country-specific situations on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, the book seeks to assess the efficacy of the Security Council as global legislator in terms of complementing the Security Council's mandate for the maintenance of international peace and security with a preventative and norm-setting capacity. The book presents views from a diverse range of Security Council stakeholders including academic scholars, political analysts, and international lawyers. This resource will be of great interest to students of international relations, international organizations and international security studies alike.

Written by a leading expert in the field, this book analyses the complex relations between the European Union (EU) as a regional organization and the United Nations (UN) as an international, global governance institution. The book explores how collaboration between the EU and the UN has evolved and how the two entities collaborate both structurally and in day-to-day work. It shows how the EU acts within institutions such as the United Nations General Assembly and how UN agencies, funds and entities, such as UNHRC, UNICEF and UN Women, interact with the EU and its member states. Through its analysis, the book demonstrates how, despite recent criticism, patterns of multilateralism and cooperation between regional and international institutions can be central to stable patterns of rules-based regional and global governance.

This book is an edited volume that focuses on international norms and normative change in some of the key areas of sustainable human development. This is an important and timely topic since the international community adopted a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September of 2015. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will guide international development efforts over the next fifteen years. For this reason, developing a deeper understanding of the SDGs, the international norms that underpin them, and any normative change they represent is vital for students, scholars, and development practitioners and professionals. This volume is designed to provide an account of some of the normative debates and normative change that the process of developing a set of SDGs has entailed. Its goal is to assess the origins, nature, extent, and implications of normative change in the context of the post-2015 development agenda. It also evaluates the extent to which the SDGs represent a significant change from established development norms and practices.

This volume approaches the UN as a laboratory of religio-political value politics. Over the last two decades religion has acquired increasing influence in international politics, and religious violence and terrorism has attracted much scholarly attention. But there is another parallel development which has gone largely unnoticed, namely the increasing political impact of peaceful religious actors. With several religious actors in one place and interacting under the same conditions, the UN is as a multi-religious society writ small. The contributors to this book analyse the most influential religious actors at the UN (including The Roman Catholic Church; The Organisation of Islamic Countries; the Russian Orthodox Church). Mapping the peaceful political engagements of religious actors; who they are and how they collaborate with each other - whether on an ad hoc basis or by forming more permanent networks - throwing light at the modus operandi of religious actors at the UN; their strategies and motivations. The chapters are closely interrelated through the shared focus on the UN and common theoretical perspectives, and pursue two intertwined aspects of religious value politics, namely the whys and hows of cross-religious cooperation on the one hand, and the interaction between religious actors and states on the other. Drawing together a broad range of experts on religious actors, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of Religion and Politics, International Relations and the UN.

This publication features a collection of contemporary papers that examine both the efficacy and morality of foreign intervention into a country's affairs.;When is a war not a war? Under what circumstances is humanitarian intervention by the international community justified? In what circumstances can a state legitimately put at risk the lives of members of its armed forces? These are some of the questions raised through the essays contained in this book.;The authors consider the main ethical and political arguments surrounding the subject of intervention, and between them, cover a wide range of areas, coming to focus on international institutions and international law, domestic and political viewpoints, humanitarian consideratons, the applicability of the just war theory, and the role of public opinion and the media.

An important part of the vision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to ensure that the benefits of development and economic integration are equitably shared by all member states and their citizens. ASEAN's work therefore aims to narrow the development gap between ASEAN member states (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) and between sub-regions within ASEAN. Written by a team of internationally recognised experts in development economics, this book communicates the latest findings on narrowing the development gap in a practical, policy-relevant way, in a format that can influence decision makers within ASEAN member states and international donors. There have been significant development achievements in many ASEAN countries over the last 20 years, but the ASEAN region continues to be characterised by significant development gaps, particularly in income. Gaps in development achievement are also seen at the regional and sub-national levels. This book offers a better understanding of development gaps, as they exist in 2012, and provides important context that can inform the strategic needs of decision makers in the ASEAN region. Due to improvements in conceptualising and measuring well-being, including through the use of multidimensional indicators, this book gives policy makers and scholars in development economics, development policy and Asian studies well-grounded insights into the nature of the development gaps within and between ASEAN countries as well as high-level policy advice on those interventions that can contribute to a narrowing of the development gap.

Since its establishment, the UN's Peacebuilding Architecture (PBA) has been involved in peacebuilding processes in more than 20 countries. This edited volume takes stock of the overall impact of the PBA during its first decade in existence, and generates innovative recommendations for how the architecture can be modified and utilized to create more synergy and fusion between the UN's peace and development work. The volume is based on commissioned research and independent evaluations as well as informed opinions of several key decision-makers closely engaged in shaping the UN's peacebuilding agenda. It seeks to find a balance between identifying the reality and constraints of the UN's multilateral framework, while being bold in exploring new and innovative ways in which the UN can enhance the results of its peace and development work through the PBA. The research and writing of each chapter has been guided by four objectives: to assess the overall impact of the PBA; to generate innovative ideas for how the PBA can be made more effective post-2015; to analyze the PBA's role at the nexus of the UN's peace and development work; and to consider what would be required for the PBA to increase and improve its impact in future. It will be of interest to diplomats, UN officials, the policy community and scholars engaged in the debate following the 2015 review and the implementation of its recommendations, and will be an essential resource for UN and peacebuilding scholars.

The UN Security Council formally acknowledged an obligation to promote justice and the rule of law in 2003. This volume examines the extent to which the Council has honoured this commitment when exercising its powers under the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security. It discusses both how the concept of the rule of law regulates, or influences, Security Council activity and how the Council has in turn shaped the notion of the rule of law. It explores in particular how this relationship has affected the Security Council's three most prominent tools for the maintenance of international peace and security: peacekeeping, sanctions and force. In doing so, this volume identifies strategies for better promotion of the rule of law by the Security Council. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of international law, international relations, international development and peacekeeping.

The United Nations in the 21st Century, Sixth Edition, provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the UN. It explores the historical, institutional, and theoretical foundations of the UN as well as major global trends and challenges facing the organization today, including changing major power dynamics, new threats to peace and security, the migration and refugee crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the existential challenges of climate change and sustainability. Thoroughly revised and expanded, it contains two new chapters on the UN and the environment and on human security, including issues of health, food security, global migration, and human trafficking. There is enhanced analysis of theoretical perspectives on post-colonialism, feminist theory, constructivism, and non-Western views. New content has also been added on the UN's budget crisis, public-private partnerships, and the role of women in the organization. By examining the UN as an intergovernmental organization facing the broader need for global cooperation to address economic, social, and environmental interdependencies alongside the threats posed by rising nationalism and populism, this popular text is the perfect reference for all students and practitioners of international organizations, global governance, and international relations.

The United Nations Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. In discharging its powers it must act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the UN, and observe the rules governing voting and procedure established in the Organisation's Charter. The Council adopts mandatory resolutions that may establish obligations for members and non-members, and such obligations trump conflicting obligations originating from any other international agreement. Member States must cooperate with the Organisation and among themselves, in the implementation of any action prescribed by the Council against States whose behaviour the Council considers an act of aggression, or a threat to, or breach of, international peace and security. This book analyses resistance to Security Council resolutions and puts forward a theory of lawful resistance. Sufyan Droubi takes a positivist approach to the UN Charter regarding it as a constitution. Special emphasis is placed on the construction of the Charter's meaning through the practice of both organs and Members of the UN and on the need to enhance the effectiveness of the Organization with due respect to the rule of law. The book proposes that nonviolent resistance to a mandatory resolution of the Security Council, on grounds that the latter is incompatible with the Charter or jus cogens norms, may be considered lawful under the Charter if some elements are present. In exploring a number of case studies of individual and collective State resistance to mandatory Council resolutions, the book proposes that resistance may function as a rudimentary instrument of accountability and protection of the Charter and jus cogens, in the absence of more mature mechanisms of judicial review. The book will be of excellent use and interest to scholars and students of constitutional international law and international relations.

The role of the United Nations in collective security has been evolving since its inception in 1945. This book explores collective security as practiced within the legal framework provided by the United Nations Charter, with a particular focus upon activity undertaken under the auspices of the UN Security Council, the body conferred by the Charter with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Although the book is primarily grounded in international law, where appropriate it also draws upon relevant political insights in order to present a clear picture of the UN collective security system in operation and the factors which impact upon the way in which it functions. Offering a comprehensive analysis it considers the full range of measures which can be utilised by the UN in the performance of its collective security remit including military enforcement action, peacekeeping, non-military sanctions and diplomacy. The book considers each of these measures in detail, assessing the legal framework applicable to the form of action, the main legal controversies which arise in respect of their appropriate utilisation, and the UN's use of this collective security 'tool' in practice. The book draws conclusions about the main strengths and shortcomings of the various means through which the UN can attempt to prevent, minimise or end conflict.

This book examines the role of the international community in the handover of the Dutch colony of West Papua/Irian Jaya to Indonesia in the 1960s and questions whether or not the West Papuan people ever genuinely exercised the right to self-determination guaranteed to them in the UN-brokered Dutch/Indonesian agreement of 1962. Indonesian, Dutch, US, Soviet, Australian and British involvement is discussed, but particular emphasis is given to the central part played by the United Nations in the implementation of this agreement. As guarantor, the UN temporarily took over the territory's administration from the Dutch before transferring control to Indonesia in 1963. After five years of Indonesian rule, a UN team returned to West Papua to monitor and endorse a controversial act of self-determination that resulted in a unanimous vote by 1022 Papuan 'representatives' to reject independence. Despite this, the issue is still very much alive today as a crisis-hit Indonesia faces continued armed rebellion and growing calls for freedom in West Papua.