The UN Secretary-General From the Cold War to the New Era : A Global Peace and Security Mandate?

This book is based upon research I conducted at the Graduate School oflnternational Relations of the University of Kent at Canterbury. During my time there I was fortunate to have benefited from the unflagging energy, support and wisdom of my supervisor Professor A.J.R. Groom. The intellectual and practical support of the rest of the International Relations team was also invaluable, in particular Dr Keith Webb, Dr Andrew Williams, and Dr Jarrod Wiener. Dr Wiener has continued to be enormously helpful since I left Canterbury and I thank him for his hard work and sharp ideas. Thanks also to Mr T.M. Farmiloe at Macmillan for assistance during the production of this book. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people I have met and who have helped me over the last few years around the world. Their insights have been inspiring. Obviously, the shortcomings of this book lie with myself alone. At the University of Kent I received essential financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council for which I will remain eternally grateful. In the same vein I would like to thank the UK Conflict Research Society for the assistance they were able to provide. In addition, I appreciate the efforts of Shumei University for creating an environment conducive to the completion of this book. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Ron and Angela, for their kind support and encouragement. This book is dedicated to them. Vll 'end of history' or the 'clash of civilizations', or any other grand scheme. 4 In a sense, the twenty-first century has already begun, but it defies definition. Ultimately, the UN is being pulled by forces which are sometimes opposites and sometimes symbiotic. Fragmentation, integration, globalization, the evolution of state sovereignty, sub-and trans-state processes, and the demands of the 'new' security agenda, are all in evidence. The UN Secretary-General: from Cold War to New Era largely at the bidding of the leading status quo actors? The post-Cold War Secretaryship-General represents a delicate navigation between these two poles. To address these questions and issues, it is necessary to look at the evolution of the Office. Chapter 1 outlines the principles and history of the international civil service from its origins as an outcrop of international cooperation and liberal internationalism following the First World War. Upon this basis, the following chapter lays down the political and legal foundations of the Office of Secretary-General and relates these to the formative organizational settings of the League of Nations and the United Nations. Chapter 3 establishes the framework for analysis of the UN Secretaryship-General. This involves identifying the variables which form the shifting parameters within which the Office works. These variables embrace numerous -and often intangible -organizational, personal, legal and political factors. The methodological issues -and problemsinvolved in such a task are also presented, and the peace and security functions of the Office are outlined. It is difficult to conceptualize the international 'system' and how this conditions the Secretaryship-General. Nevertheless, it is argued that this political environment is fundamental to understanding the Office's constraints and opportunities. Under this theme the subsequent chapters illustrate the activities of the UN Secretaries-General in the context of developments in international politics. Particular emphasis is given to the challenging developments of the post-Cold War world and the extent to which this has thrust the Office, particularly under Boutros-Ghali, beyond the classical model of the international civil service. Office when the Security Council works on the basis of coherence in issues it has an interest in. Boutros-Ghali proclaimed in 1996 that the Secretary-General is `an impartial figure with a global mandate'. This was reminiscent of those in 1945 who heralded the `international leadership' of that Office. Can the Secretary-General guide the United Nations as it seeks to adapt to demands and circumstances quite different to those which existed at its inception, and address the widening agenda of peace and security? Or is the Office inevitably an adjunct of narrow Great Power manoeuvring? This book examines the evolving peace and security activities of the United Nations Secretary-General in the context of developments in international politics. The frustrations and opportunities - and controversy - which the Office has experienced in the transition to the post-Cold War world reflect the volatility and uncertainties of the UN in a changing world. The Secretary-General's activities in the 1990s also reflect a development of the international civil service beyond the classical model

Examines the evolving peace and security role of the United Nations Secretary-General in the context of the changing international climate.

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Examines the evolving peace and security activities of the head of the international body in the context of developments in international politics since 1945, seeking to investigate whether someone in that position can truly be an impartial figure with a global mandate or must inevitably be an agent of the narrow interests and maneuvering of the Great Powers. Finds that the frustrations, opportunities, and controversies attendant on the shift to a post-Cold War era reflect the volatility and uncertainties of the organization as a whole. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

An in-depth examination of the evolving peace and security activities of the United Nations Secretary-General in the context of developments in international politics. The constraints and opportunities which the Office has experienced under Pérez de Cuéllar and Boutros-Ghali in the transition to the post-Cold War world and the controversy which has surrounded the Office reflects the volatility and uncertainty of the UN in a changing environment. It is argued that the Secretary-General's activities in the 1990s reflect a development of the international civil service beyond the classical model Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-6 The International Civil Service....Pages 7-12 The Office of Secretary-General....Pages 13-23 The Framework and Functions of the Office....Pages 24-36 The Development of the Office, 1945–82....Pages 37-61 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar....Pages 62-109 Boutros Boutros-Ghali....Pages 110-126 The Post-Cold War Secretaryship-General....Pages 127-194 Conclusions....Pages 195-205 Back Matter....Pages 206-239 "This book examines the evolving peace and security activities of the United Nations Secretary-General in the context of developments in international politics."--Jacket Edward Newman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 206-232) And Index.