Global Governance and the UN An Unfinished Journey [Paperback]

In the 21st century, the world is faced with threats of global scale that cannot be confronted without collective action. Although global government as such does not exist, formal and informal institutions, practices, and initiativestogether forming global governance bring a greater measure of predictability, stability, and order to trans-border issues than might be expected. Yet, there are significant gaps between many current global problems and available solutions. Thomas G. Weiss and Ramesh Thakur analyze the UN's role in addressing such knowledge, normative, policy, institutional, and compliance lapses. The UN's relationship to these five global governance gaps is explored through case studies of some of the most burning problems of our age, including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian crises, development aid, climate change, human rights, and HIV/AIDS.

Global Governance and the UN will satisfy those who seek a serious grappling with the ethical aspects of international action to address the worlds most pressing challenges. The book argues that the UNs evolution is an unfinished journey: . . . global governance will continue to evolve, with the UN at the center, in the wake of each global crisis. dec 2011An intriguing and meaty analysis of the world's collective problem-solving arrangements. . . . Tom Weiss and Ramesh Thakur are the doyens of contemporary scholarship in this field, and there could be no more credible or lucid guides through these complex and important issues.Never has a serious book on the United Nations and global governance been timelier.Weiss and Thakur have managed to perform the difficult trick of producing a work that can function as textbook, scholarly reference, policy guide, and popular reading. . . . Recommended.

Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.

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