Ramesh Chandra Thakur

"The Iraq war was a multiple assault on the foundations and rules of the existing UN-centered world order. It called into question the adequacy of the existing institutions for articulating global norms and enforcing compliance with the demands of the international community. It highlighted also the unwillingness of some key countries to wait until definitive proof before acting to meet the danger of the world's most destructive weapons falling into the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes. It was simultaneously a test of the UN's willingness and ability to deal with brutal dictatorships and a searching scrutiny of the nature and exercise of American power. The United States is the world's indispensable power, but the United Nations is the world's indispensable institution. The UN Security Council is the core of the international law enforcement system and the chief body for building, consolidating and using the authority of the international community. The United Natio ns has the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, and is structured to discharge this responsibility in a multipolar world where the major powers have permanent membership of the key collective security decision-making body, namely the UN Security Council. The emergence of the United States as the sole superpower after the end of the Cold War distorted the structural balance in the UN schema. The United Nations is the main embodiment of the principle of multilateralism and the principal vehicle for the pursuit of multilateral goals. The United States has global power, soft as well as hard; the United Nations is the fount of international authority. Progress towards a world of a rules-based, civilized international order requires that US force be put to the service of lawful international authority. This book examines these major normative and structural challenges from a number of different perspectives.--Publisher's description."--From source other t han the Library of Congress

In 1991 India was ailing internally, wracked by political turmoil, social ferment and economic stagnation. It had to cope with waning significance abroad, suspicion in the region and turbulence at home. Dr Thakur's concern is to explore how India might recover its poise in order to enhance its market presence and expand its influence in world affairs. Dr. Thakur argues that stability and prosperity at home and in the region will enhance India's global status and give credibility to its claims to world leadership. He shows how India can change to a radically more productive domestic policy through market-opening measures, and a dramatically more cooperative policy in its bilateral, regional and international relations. Friendships with Pakistan and China would enable India to lead the way to collective regional prosperity, which in turn would help to define the terms of its integration with the rest of Asia-Pacific. Peace and prosperity at home and in its home region would also help to contain and offset the damage in relations with Russia while improving those with the USA on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

The stated reason for invading Iraq was its alleged clandestine pursuit of weapons of mass destruction in defiance of UN resolutions. Even though the allegation was proven false, the international community remains preoccupied with the threat of the proliferation and use of such terrible weapons. The questions discussed in this book include doctrinal issues regarding the use of force in general; the implications of a shift in the utility of nuclear weapons from deterrence to compliance and of a focus on non-proliferation to the neglect of disarmament; the place and role of the United Nations in controlling the spread and use of WMD; the regional dynamics of proliferation concerns in North-east Asia and the Middle East; and the threats posed by the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons and missiles by non-state actors.--Publisher's ddescription.

"The 1990s saw the United Nations, the militaries of key member states, and NGOs increasingly entangled in the complex affairs of disrupted states. Whether as deliverers of humanitarian assistance or as agents of political, social, and civic reconstruction, whether in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, or East Timor, these actors have had to learn ways of interacting with each other in order to optimize the benefits for the populations they seek to assist. Yet the challenges have proved daunting. Civil and military actors have different organizational cultures and standard operating procedures and are confronted with the need to work together to perform tasks to which different actors may attach quite different priorities."--BOOK JACKET.

Annotation

Peacekeeping operations have unintended consequences -- this has long been ignored by both practitioners and researchers. The deployment of a large number of soldiers, police officers and civilian personnel inevitably has various effects on the host society and economy, not all of which are in keeping with the peacekeeping mandate and intent or are easily discernible prior to the intervention. Such unintended consequences are especially serious when they cause harm to the local community, as in the case of sexual abuse and exploitation, corruption or the creation of a false economy. Unintended side-effects can also negatively affect the ability of the peacekeeping mission to achieve its mandate. This book is an attempt to improve understanding of unintended consequences of peacekeeping operations, by bringing together field experiences and academic analysis. It covers consequences on individuals and groups of individuals, on the host society and economy, and on the troop-contributing countries. It also analyzes the degree to which the United Nations has tried to manage some of these side effects, as well as the United Nations' accountability in the context of the international legal framework. The aim of the book is not to discredit peace operations but rather to improve the way in which such operations are planned and managed. The book identifies the need to develop a culture of accountability, which should include institutionalizing processes aimed at anticipating unintended consequences as a routine part of all planning cycles, and the monitoring of effects, including unintended effects, so that proactive steps can be taken to prevent and manage negative side effects as early as possible.--Publisher's description.