Author Description

How does the United Nations actually work? How does it reconcile the diverse interests of 191 sovereign member states, plus those of the numerous NGOs with which it interacts, the diverse international Secretariat that services it, and the multinational corporations that lobby it - in the search for effective solutions to the myriad problems it confronts daily? Politics and Process at the United Nations answers these questions, providing a vivid picture of the dynamic interaction between actors and institutional structures. Drawing readers into the global dance that takes place at UN headquarters, the author introduces the various members of the troupe and explains the procedures and processes that make up the movements of the dance. He also addresses an often neglected but essential issue: do UN decisions really matter? The result is an unusual book, valuable both for scholars and for students in UN and IO courses. Includes information on the UN charter, majority voting, multilateral diplomacy, multinational corporations, non-aligned movement, nongovernmental organizations, voting, etc.