The Future of the United Nations System: Potential for the Twenty-First Century

What does the future hold for the UN? In this book, twenty-two scholars from all continents contribute twelve chapters that cover prevention of violence, creating economic and social structures that sustain human fulfilment, sharing and protecting the commons, and peace education. The search for future potential, based on experience in these twelve "laboratories," leads to sixty-six recommendations for new institutions and programs on issues that include controlling weapons, humanitarian intervention, collaboration between UN peacekeepers and NGOs, human rights, economic policies, advancement of women, refugees, ecological security, communications, and peace education. These recommendations are brought together in a concluding chapter and summarized in the appendix. Most of the recommendations do not require amendments to the UN Charter or to the treaties establishing the UN Specialized Agencies. Instead, their implementation would require creative efforts of Member States, secretariats, NGOs, and dedicated individuals that are pointed toward attainment of multilateral capacity for coping with an array of global problems that increasingly threaten the quality of human life. This is stimultaing reading for anyone who wants to be challenged to think creatively about the potential for coping with a growing array of global problems.

Chadwick F. Alger is professor of political science and public policy at Ohio State University.