Blue Geopolitics

Since the formation of the United Nations in 1945 the world has changed dramatically. The intention of the original signatories was to protect future generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm the faith in human rights and the dignity of the individual and to promote social progress. How has the UN matched up to these expectations? Is there a good argument that now, in the 1990s, the UN should undergo radical reform? This book examines areas of potential reform where there is greatest disagreement: a new approach to peace keeping, a stronger Security Council, the development of a preventative capacity and the linking of disarmament and demilitarisation to the coercive capacity of the UN. It concludes that the UN does indeed require a major overhaul. In the 21st century we will need an organisation freed from the historic bonds of its origins and if such a UN is to exist it must justify itself by contemporary needs, not those of 1945. "Blue Geopolitics" provides an introduction to the workings of the United Nations, covering all the major issues currently under question.