POST-COLD WAR ROLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
This paper discusses and analyzes expectations and realities concerning the role of the United Nations and other international organizations in the post-cold war world. Since the late 1980s, the United Nations in particular has been thrust into new roles and responsibilities in the area of conflict management and other fields for which its current structures are not particularly well-suited. Nevertheless, the UN and other international organizations perform useful and in some cases critical functions in promoting international stability and development, including the protection of human rights. The UN must, however, gradually reform its structures and modus operandi if it is to succeed in meeting these new challenges.
Contrasting Cold War and Post-Cold War Conditions. It appeared for a brief period (1989-1991) that a new international order was emerging in which the United Nations would and could play a critical role with the cooperation of the great powers. A remarkable international consensus supported the efforts of the UN and the allied coalition vis-a-vis Saddam Hussein's Kuwaiti incursion. The UN played an important part in restoring peace, reconciling opposing factions and otherwise promoting democracy in Angola, Nambibia, Mozambique, Cambodia and Central America. However, the reality is that "in the post-Cold War era, the international system is beset by a bewildering multitude of problems [including] fundamental divisions: North-South; regional animosities; and communal cleavages" (Roberts & Benedict, 1994, Introduction, p. 3). When it appeared that the United Nations missions to Somalia and the former Yugoslavia in particularly had run into serious difficulties, doubts arose concerning the United Nations' capability to perform its new roles effectively.
Peace-making and Peacekeeping. During the Cold War, the United Nations was prevent...