The United States & the United Nations
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For some time there has been a segment of the political spectrum which has as its theme that the United States should get out of the United Nations and should get the United Nations out of the United States. In part, this is based on the belief that the United Nations is ineffective at its mission and may even be subversive to American interests. Less committed observers may also see the organization as ineffective, since there are many wars continuing in different parts of the world with little success on the part of the United Nations at ending them. Yet it is possible to consider whether the world would not be even worse off than it is if the United Nations did not exist. The UN has had successes that should be noted even as we try to find a better way to make it work. These questions are being asked at a time when the United Nations faces new problems. The United Nations faces a new power structure in the world with the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc. This provides a new opportunity to reconstitute the UN so that it more clearly fulfills the original purpose of the United Nations, which was to avoid conflict or to settle it without force. The new paradigm may be bolstering international law and arbitration in order to judge the actions of nations according to ethical standards. After World War I, many of the nations of the world tried to address one of the issues that had interested idealists for some time--the creation of some means for intern
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fficult to maintain, as can be seen by the Korean War. UN involvement has been described as a diplomatic fluke because the beginning of that conflict came at a time when the Soviet Union was boycotting the Security Council and so was not available to veto the action. The United States led the action even after the UN voted to become involved, and UN support was marginalized further once the Soviets began vetoing efforts to provide support. The action has been seen as violating the principle of collective security:
Although it did represent a legally authorized action by the Security Council and was an international effort to reverse a clear case of aggression, it lacked the legitimacy implied by the concept (Stiles 155).
However, the fact that the United Nations voted in favor of the military action being undertaken by the United States gave that action legitimacy in spite of Soviet opposition, and this has been true in other instances as well, as can be seen today in Bosnia and a few years ago in the Gulf War. Even the appearance of international consensus is a benefit in such conflicts, and the United States has made the most of any suggestion of support. The success of the effort in the Persian Gulf was seen as being al
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Approximate Word count = 1344
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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