This is the first introduction to the United Nations covering the entire postwar period. It combines a history of the UN with a broader account of east-west diplomacy during the Cold War and after. Norrie MacQueen begins by looking at the formation, structure and functions of the UN. Then, within a chronological framework, he assesses its contribution to international security from the emergence of the UN's peacekeeping role in 1945-56 right through to UN operations in the 1990s in Angola, Somalia and Bosnia.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: THE BACKGROUND 1. Beginnings: The Establishment of the United Nations and its Security Functions. PART TWO: DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS 2. The Emergence of Peacekeeping 1948-1956 3. The 1960s: Peacekeeping Institutionalized 4. The 1970s and 1980s: From Cold War to Detente to Cold War 5. A 'New Multilateralism'? Peacekeeping After the Cold War PART THREE: ASSESSMENT 6. The Multiple Purposes of Cold War Peacekeeping PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS Bibliography Index