Level 106
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The UN and the Multilateral System

The UN and the Multilateral System

An overview of the origins, principal organs, agencies, and practice of the United Nations, from its founding Charter to its role in peacekeeping, human rights, and collective security.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. Founding the UN: Charter and Principal Organs. The UN was founded at San Francisco in 1945, establishing a Charter and six principal organs.
  2. UN Leadership and Judicial/Economic Bodies. The Secretaries-General, ECOSOC, the Trusteeship Council, and the ICJ round out the UN's core institutions.
  3. Peacekeeping: Successes, Failures, and R2P. UN peacekeeping evolved from Cold War observer missions to complex operations, marked by both achievements and failures.
  4. The UN's Specialized Agencies. Agencies such as WHO, UNESCO, ILO, FAO, UNHCR, and UNDP carry out much of the UN's technical and humanitarian work.
  5. Peacebuilding, Sanctions, and Disarmament. Post-conflict peacebuilding, sanctions regimes, and disarmament efforts, including nuclear non-proliferation and climate accords.
  6. Human Rights, Budget, and Reform. The Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteurs, UN financing, and long-standing debates over reforming the system.
  7. Collective Security in Practice: Korea to Iraq. From the Korean War to the 2003 Iraq War, Security Council practice has tested and contested the Charter's collective-security provisions.
  8. Multilateralism's Critics and the UN's Future. Sovereignty and effectiveness critiques, comparisons with other bodies, NGO participation, and debates over the UN's future.

This is the starting point of The UN and the Multilateral System: you don't need any prior knowledge of this subject to begin.

Key points

Visual module map

1Founding the UN: Charter and Principal Organs
2Peacekeeping: Successes, Failures, and R2P
3Peacebuilding, Sanctions, and Disarmament
4Human Rights, Budget, and Reform
5Multilateralism's Critics and the UN's Future

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

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Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

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Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Charter of the United Nations (1945). San Francisco. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter
  • Weiss, T. G., Forsythe, D. P., Coate, R. A., and Pease, K.-K. (2016). The United Nations and Changing World Politics. 8th ed. Boulder: Westview Press.
  • Kennedy, P. (2006). The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations. New York: Random House.
  • Meisler, S. (1995). United Nations: The First Fifty Years. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
  • Luck, E. C. (2006). UN Security Council: Practice and Promise. Abingdon: Routledge.