The United Nations in the 21st Century

Dilemmas in World Politics

by Karen A. Mingst, Margaret P. Karns, Alynna J. Lyon (Contributor)

The United Nations in the 21st Century provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the United Nations, exploring the historical, institutional, and theoretical foundations of the UN. This popular text for courses on international organizations and international relations also discusses the political complexities facing the organization today. Thoroughly revised throughout, the fifth edition focuses on major trends since 2012, including changing power dynamics, increasing threats to peace and security, and the growing challenges of climate change and sustainability. It examines the proliferating public-private partnerships involving the UN and the debates over reforming the Security Council and the Secretary-General selection process. This edition also includes new case studies on peacekeeping and the use of force in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, transnational terrorism and the emergence of ISIS, the Security Council's failure to act in Syria, the Syrian and global refugee/migrant crisis, and the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals and framing of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Academic, International Relations

402 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 1995

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're ever interested in learning more about the United Nations, I'd recommend this book. The chapters are structured in a logical way, and the book itself is written so that anyone, even if you don't have previous knowledge of popular IR terms and theories, can understand what is being discussed. The book includes a helpful glossary of definitions, and several pages at the beginning of the book are devoted to the seemingly hundreds of acronyms used throughout the book.

After reading this, I now have a greater understanding of how the UN was formed, the different bodies of the UN and their functions, and the problems the UN faces in the 21st century and how it can combat them.

The makeup of the UN is very confusing, and I am sure I will often return to chapters 2 and 3, which explain how the UN was formed and what the role of the actors are.

[Jordan Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from a friend who used it as a textbook for a class. It does read as such: it is dense with many facts, dates, and names of obscure councils for past UN missions. However, I knew nothing before this about the UN and believe I can now talk about the different parts of the organization with at least some knowledge. Chapters include everything from a brief history and evolution of the UN, to individual chapters on International Peace and Security, Economic Development and Sustainability, Human Rights, and Human Security: Environment and Health. If you need a crash course on the UN, I'd definitely recommend this book.

[Mills College Library]

341.23 M6649u 2011

[Casey Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a textbook, but it has everything about the UN structure you could want. If you want more details about the actual organizations under the UN, you will have to find it elsewhere.