THE UNITED NATIONS:
A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION
Turin/Milan: UTET Università, 2023
The UN is a paradox of international relations. It is made up of sovereign states, but it aims to limit their excesses. It is based on the principle of legal equality, but it is controlled by the most powerful countries. It is engaged in military operations, but it does not have an army.
It was born from the ashes of the Holocaust, but it treats the world’s dictators with deference. It defends human rights, but it cannot meddle in the internal affairs of its members. And while it preaches democracy, it does not practice it.
Based on exclusive interviews, years of archival research and the author’s own professional experience in New York, this book presents the structures and functions of the UN, as well as the complex debates and heated controversies that accompany it.
Divided into three parts (structures, functions, and debates), the book highlights with frankness but also fairness the successes and the failures of this unique Organization by giving voice to its officials and diplomats, including through their personal diaries and papers.
As current events show – from the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine, from the Gaza conflict to superpower competition – the United Nations is as flawed as it is indispensable. The question is: who benefits from a weak UN?
Table of Contents
Introduction
- General Assembly
- Security Council
- Secretariat
- Economic and Social Council
- International Court of Justice
- Peace
- Human Rights
- Democracy
- Development
- Justice
- History
- Power
- Sovereignty
- Morality
- Leadership
Conclusion
Details
- Format: Hardcover and E-Book
- Published: 2023
- Language: Italian
- Pages: 250
- Size: 9.2 x 6.1 inches
- ISBN: 9788860089304
- Dust Jacket: here
- Publisher’s Webpage: here