Global problems require global solutions. The United Nations as presently constituted, however, is incapable of addressing many global problems effectively. One nation– one vote decisionmaking in most UN agencies fails to reflect the distribution of power in the world at large, while the allocation of power in the Security Council is both unfair and anachronistic. Hence, nations are reluctant to endow the United Nations with the authority and the resources it needs. Extensive reform is essential. This analysis is rooted in the proposition that the design of decisionmaking systems greatly affects their legitimacy and effectiveness. Joseph Schwartzberg proposes numerous systemic improvements to the UN system, largely through weighted voting formulas that balance the needs of shareholders and stakeholders in diverse agencies. It indicates ways in which the interests of regions can supplement those of nations while voices of nongovernmental organizations and ordinary citizens can also be heard. In numerous contexts, it promotes meritocracy and gender equity. The book's aim is not to create an unrealistic utopia, but rather to establish a workable world in which the force of law supplants the law of force; a world committed to justice and continuous yet sustainable development. The author argues that, given the many existential threats now confronting our planet, the time frame for decisive action is short. The task is daunting and success is not guaranteed, but in view of the urgency of our situation, we can find ways of mustering the will, imagination, and resources to do the job.

The UN celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2015. In the Volume Reforming the UN: A Chronology by Joachim Müller an exciting story is told describing the evolution of the UN through the main change initiatives applied by each Secretary-General, characterized by political confrontations, crises of confidence and organizational constraints. Initiatives included approving the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening peacekeeping, enlarging the Security Council, establishing mechanisms to protect human rights, improving aid efficiency, and reforming management practices. This story is completed by a Chronology of Reform Events to enhance the transparency of parallel, multi-layer reform tracks. Lessons learned highlight the main drivers of changes, the interests and constraints, and the dynamics of the reform process: valuable insight for capitalizing on future change opportunities.

This book comprehensively examines the different proposals put forward for reforming the UN Security Council by analysing their objectives and exploring whether the implementation of these proposals would actually create a representative and more effective Security Council. The book places the discussion on reform of Security Council membership in the context of the council’s primary responsibility, which is at the helm of the UN collective security system. The author contends that only a Council that is adequately representative of the UN membership can claim to legitimately act on the members’ behalf. This book offers an inquiry into the Council’s constitutional framework and how far that framework still reflects the expectations and intentions of the founding nations, whilst remaining flexible enough to satisfy today’s, and possibly tomorrow’s, membership. Through the use of policy-oriented jurisprudence and elements of the International Law/International Relations theory this book explores how reform can best be realised. Reforming the UN Security Council Membership will be of particular interest to scholars and students of International Law and International Relations.

9.4 Addressing the challenges brought about by a multi-polar world

This volume discusses the rationale for and against multilateral development cooperation, with particular attention to international industrial development during the post-cold war era. It also documents how UNIDO has successfully transformed itself to contribute effectively to the global supply of international public goods within the purview of its mandate. A foreword by U.K. Secretary Clare Short illustrates the good reception that such transformation has elicited amongst the donor community as well as its demonstration and potential spillover effects on the whole of the UN system. The book, which contains testimonies of ambassadors of UNIDO's stakeholder countries as well as contributions by Messrs. J. D.-Martinussen, former Head of the Danish Mission for UNIDO's assessment, and R. Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), can be expected to become an indispensable reference material for students of UN affairs and the international relations and development policy communities at large.

Identifies the major weaknesses in the current United Nations system and proposes fundamental reforms to address each. This title is also available as Open Access.