Political Science Essay, Research Paper

In the following paragraphs, we will be an analysis and discussing the formation, the contribution, and the security of the United Nations. We will also be offering our personal assessment of the success and the failures of this task, along with our personal future prospects of this organization.

United Nations as it is known today is the continuation of the League of Nation. Which was formed after the World War II. The League of Nations was formed by many countries, prominently USA and Britain after the World War II to shape up and organize the world after the devastation of countries after the war.

After World War II, many countries were going through different political and economical problems. Fighting was erupting between countries with different ideologies. The world was being divided between communism and capitalism. But the League of Nations did not have the support and wide mandate of the entire world to implement its policy. Moreover its role and objective was not clearly defined, so gradually and slowly it became a body in nature only.

In 1950 United States, Britain, USSR and France got together to form a new body, and named it United Nations. Its objective was to be a kind of referee in the world affairs, playing a neutral role in fighting between two rival countries.

Supply aid to poor countries in the form of food, medicine, and peacekeeper consisting of soldiers of many countries, to act as a judge in case of legal

disagreement. The objective and aim of formation of the United Nations was very noble and righteous, but the United Nations has since its creation become a controversial organization today.

To start with when it was newly formed it has 5 permanent members of Security Councils which were USA, USSR, France, Britain and Nationalist China “there are also ten nonpermanent members (originally there were six)”. The United Nations had two levels of body to administer the affairs of the world, and they were, the General Assembly, which was a “forum in which all states can send representatives to sit in session, present opinions, and vote on resolutions”, which consisted of all the sovereign Nations of the world and the Security Council with five permanent members with veto powers, who are able to veto any resolution the General Assembly has passed.

The irony of the fact was that communist China having a population of close to one billion at that time representing the greater amount of the total of the world population, was denied entry into this world today. Instead Nationalist China, which was 1/100 in population and influence compared to communist

China was not only a member of the United Nations but also a permanent member of the Security Council, which held veto power.

This was all “power politics” and did not earn the UN a good reputation. Moreover, during the Cold War era (before the break up of the Soviet Union) the United Nations was divided into two groups. The pro west or pro American or

pro communism, or pro Russian. In those days these two “super power groups” dictated most of the United Nations policy and functions. Not until the United States recognized communist China as the true representative country, China was not admitted into the United Nations. Once it was a member of the UN, China got a permanent seat at the Security Council with veto power, replacing Nationalist China.

At present moment, the members of the United Nations consist of about 200 members, and the Security Council consists of five permanent members with veto power, and they are: United States, Britain, Russia, China and France. The Security Council also picks six countries every year for the duration of one year only with no veto power. So the Security Council has eleven member countries with five permanent and six revolving members chosen for only one year with no veto power. The United Nations can expel any country out of its organization if it fails to abide by the rules and regulations that the agreement has laid out. At the

present time, such an example is Afghanistan, which has been expelled because of its harsh policy toward women.

The United Nations celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year. The head office of the UN is located in New York (USA). Any member country delegation can visit and attend UN sessions if even if that country is not friendly with the USA. The reason for that is that the UN is supposed to be an independent

identity, and is not governed by one country law. Fiedel Castro of Cuba, whom USA does not recognize visited the UN many times. The UN is run by a General Secretary chosen by a popular vote of the members of the countries. The present Secretary General is Kofi Annan, he comes from Ghana. Before him was

Brutus Gali of Egypt. The Secretary General is the Chief Executive of the UN; he/she has several assistant secretaries to help them do his job.

Many United Nation agencies are working in different countries with UN approval and assistance such as UNISCO, UNICEF, PEACEKEEPING FORCE, and FOOD AID etc. The UN is funded by the membership fee, which is provided by every member country depending on its capability and importance. The UN in the past fifty years, besides of not doing a proper job and towering a super powers line has done some good in reducing tension and conflict in this world it is not a perfect picture today, but it is there and can be widespread more to solve many problems the world is facing.

As discussed previously, the UN was formed to avoid another World War and to contribute to international peace and security. In this respect the UN has

made some contribution. There has not been a World War since the end of the Second World War in 1944. It came very close to it in 1963 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but on the other hand the UN has not been able to fully implement its mandate in many major world conflicts. This is because of the super powers

and their allies’ vested interests. There are still numerous problems and conflicts that are unsolved, like the Middle East, Kashmir, Iraq etc, where the UN has clearly failed. But it has some success also resolving problems such as occupation of Kuwait by Iraq and the Bosnia problem.

The UN is not doing its job to its fullest as it was and as it is expected of it today, but it is a useful platform for the world leaders to meet and discuss the problems and to some extend solve them. In my personal opinion the future of the UN depends on the attitude of the super powers to be fair and just to smaller nations who feel unequal and powerless to play any important role in this world body.

The theoretical perspective which I feel is most useful for understanding current events is the Neomarxism/Dependency perspective, because the unequal distribution of wealth between the have and have-not countries. Eighty percent of the population of the world, living in Asia, Africa and Latin America

consumes only twenty percent of the total productivity of the world, while twenty percent of the population of the world in Europe and America consume eighty percent of the world production. Some third world countries are still living in a primitive age. As long as this disparity is removed and the distribution of wealth is spread throughout the world, there will be upheavals, military dictatorship, and unjust government will continue throughout the world.