How has the World Food Programme come to be so well-regarded—even in the US—despite being part of the much-maligned UN system? What are the political and institutional conditions that have enabled it to accrue legitimacy as an international organization? And how much substance lies behind the perceptions of its effectiveness? Finding the answers to these questions in his analysis of    More >

The Politics of Global Governance helps students of international organizations understand the major themes, theories, and approaches central to the subject. The fourth edition of this widely used anthology has been thoroughly updated with fourteen new essays to reflect the current concerns of the global system. Peacekeeping and collective security, finance and trade, and social and    More >

Thoroughly updated, this new edition of the award-winning International Organizations reflects the wealth of developments in the world arena since the first edition appeared in 2004. Professors Karns and Mingst trace the evolving roles of the full range of IGOs, NGOs, state and nonstate actors, norms, rules, and other pieces of global governance. In addition, four issue-based    More >

Did the United Nations successfully help to build a just, peaceful state and society in postconflict East Timor? Has transitional justice satisfied local demands for accountability and/or reconciliation? What lessons can be learned from the UN’s efforts? Drawing on extensive field work, James DeShaw Rae offers a grassroots perspective on the relationship between peacebuilding and    More >

A comprehensive examination of the World Trade Organization, this new book covers all the basics: the WTO’s history, its structure, and its practices and concerns. Beginning with an overview of the world trading system since the end of World War II, Lanoszka explains the profound changes brought about by the establishment of the WTO. Then, a discussion of the organization’s structure,    More >

Unique in its breadth of coverage, the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations presents the most detailed collection of data on peace operations—those launched by the UN, by regional organizations, by coalitions, and by individual nations—that is available. Features of the 2008 volume include:

• a summary analysis of the trends and developments in peace    More >

Governing the Americas presents the first systematic assessment of the functioning of hemispheric institutions since the introduction of the Summit of the Americas process in 1994.   The authors evaluate the effectiveness of inter-American institutions with regard to core issues of democratic governance, security, trade, and economic development. They consider, as well, the impact    More >

Unique in its breadth and depth of coverage, the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations presents the most detailed collection of data on peace operations—those launched by the UN, by regional organizations, by coalitions, and by individual nations—that is available. Features of the 2007 volume include:  

• an introductory essay on the priorities and    More >

Reform of the UN Secretariat has been a subject of debate for nearly as long as the UN has existed. Providing much-needed background for more informed discussions of the subject, this new book provides a concise history of the Secretariat—a little understood, but critically important part of the UN system.      More >

Unique in its breadth of coverage, this carefully designed collection presents the key documents of international law at the global level. The collection encompasses the full spectrum of central issues, with the documents grouped in eight subject areas: foundations, the use of force, arms control, international crime, human rights, humanitarian law, the environment, and the global commons. A    More >

How does the United Nations actually work? How does it reconcile the diverse interests of 191 sovereign member states—plus those of the multinational corporations that lobby it, the numerous NGOs with which it interacts, and the enormous international secretariat that services it—in the search for effective solutions to the myriad problems it confronts daily? Politics and Process    More >

Do international organizations represent the interests of the global citizenry? Or are they merely vehicles for the agendas of powerful nations and special interests? Thomas Zweifel explores this increasingly contentious issue, deftly blending history, theory, and case studies.   Zweifel's analysis covers both regional organizations (e.g., the EU, NAFTA, NATO, the AU) and such global    More >

The nature and scope of UN Security Council decisions—significantly changed in the post-Cold War era—have enormous implications for the conduct of foreign policy. The United Nations Security Council offers a comprehensive view of the council both internally and as a key player in world politics.   Focusing on the evolution of the council's treatment of key issues, the    More >

Despite the high visibility of the United Nations in various peacekeeping operations, the enormous role that it plays in the global arena goes largely unnoticed. This new book focuses on that larger role, bringing to life the evolutionary process of multilateral interaction that is the foundation of the organization, the sometimes heated politics behind its operations, and the key personalities    More >

Sandra Whitworth looks behind the rhetoric to investigate from a feminist perspective some of the realities of military intervention under the UN flag.   Whitworth contends that there is a fundamental contradiction between portrayals of peacekeeping as altruistic and benign and the militarized masculinity that underpins the group identity of soldiers. Examining evidence from Cambodia and    More >

How can the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations, government donors, and other policymakers best apply the tools of conflict prevention to the wide range of intrastate conflict situations actually found in the field? The detailed case studies and analytical chapters in From Promise to Practice offer operational lessons for fashioning strategy and tactics to meet the    More >

Events in Europe over the past decade or so have created a dynamic requiring significant conceptual and practical adjustments on the part of the the United Nations and a range of regional actors, including the EU, NATO, and the OSCE. This volume explores the resulting collaborative relationships in the context of peace operations in the Balkans, considering past efforts and developing specific    More >

Following on the publication of The Sanctions Decade—lauded as the definitive history and accounting of United Nations sanctions in the 1990s—David Cortright and George Lopez continue their collaboration to examine the changing context and meaning of sanctions and the security dilemmas that the Security Council now faces.   Cortright and Lopez note that, despite    More >

To what extent does the United Nations system work? This comprehensive survey of the world's most important family of international organizations examines the UN's structure and powers—and considers whether it is achieving what it set out to do. Focusing on legal rather than political issues, White first examines the UN's objectives, not only as defined in the original charter and the    More >

In the eight years since NAFTA's implementation, leaders and citizens in member countries have gained a sense of what the agreement is and is not, what it can and cannot do. NAFTA has resolved some problems but revealed (or created) others. Contributors to this volume examine NAFTA's performance and impact, the degree of support it enjoys in the member countries, prospects for short- and    More >

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book Since the end of the Cold War, economic sanctions have been a frequent instrument of United Nations authority, imposed by the Security Council against nearly a dozen targets. Some efforts appear to have been successful, others are more doubtful—all, though, have been controversial. This book, based on more than two hundred    More >

A comprehensive exploration of the role of nongovernmental organizations in the international arena, this collection examines the full range of NGO relationships and actions. The authors first outline the aims and scope of NGOs and suggest a systematic way of thinking about their activities. These conceptual notions underlie Part 2 of the book, five case studies focusing on NGOs vis-a-vis    More >

This volume analyzes institutional mechanisms in the United Nations and in regional organizations that exist to deal with threats to the peace, and also examines what the U.S. response should be to the evolving opportunity to strengthen collective security. The numerous theoretical and practical problems of guaranteeing international security in the 1990s provide the substance for analysis by    More >

Though the United Nations will face numerous challenges on the world's oceans in the next decades, it has not yet developed the capability to operate effectively in the areas of maritime peacekeeping or enforcement. This study examines the various regional maritime challenges confronting the United Nations and describes several organizational and experiential models—ranging from Claiborne    More >