"Praise for Previous Editions"
Few stories are as complex, as misunderstood, or as urgent as that of the United Nations. No one tells it better than this dynamic author team. Already a classic, their text offers invaluable insights into how the world tries, fails, and tries again to govern itself. Edward C. Luck, Columbia University
Four expert authors join forces to provide a theoretically sophisticated survey of the UN as an actorand not merely a stagein international politics. Robert E. Williams, Jr., Pepperdine University
Built around three critical themes in international relationspeace and security, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and sustainable human development"The United Nations and Changing World Politics" guides students through the seven turbulent decades of UN politics. Beginning with coverage of theory and practice, the authors discuss what the UN is, how it operates, and how it engages with the universe of external actors and institutions, from sovereign states to the array of nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations now playing important roles in world politics.
The eighth edition has been updated throughout to incorporate recent developments on the international stage, including peace operations in Mali and the Central African Republic; ongoing UN efforts to manage the crises in Libya, Syria, and Iraq; the Iran nuclear deal; and the new Sustainable Development Goals. The authors discuss how international law frames the controversies at the UN and guides how the UN responds to violence and insecurity, violations of human rights, poverty, underdevelopment, and environmental degradation. Students of all levels will learn that the UN is a complex organization, comprised of three interactive entities that cooperate and compete with each other to define and advance the UN s principles and purposes.
Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center and director-emeritus of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.
David P. Forsythe is the Charles J. Mach Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Roger A. Coate is Paul D. Coverdell Professor of Public Policy at Georgia College & State University and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of South Carolina.
Kelly-Kate Pease is professor of international relations at Webster University in St. Louis and the director of the International Relations Program Worldwide. She also serves as a fellow in the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies."