United Nations Organization Assessment: Global Politics, Relations & Functions

The UN was designed to ensure international peace and security and its founders realized that these could not be achieved without attention to issues of rights: political, legal, economic, social, environmental, and individual. Its structure reflects the power relationships of the post-1945 world, despite the fact that the world has changed dramatically with respect to the post-Cold War relationship and the dramatic increase in the number of independent states. The UN is a reflection of the realities of international politics. Its economic divisions are revealed in the voting arrangements of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the viewpoints within the Secretariat. The norm of national sovereignty runs into persistent conflict with the constant demand by many in the international community; that the UN take a more active role in combating aggression and alleviating international problems. Thus, it is likely that the UN will continue to be seen by its critics as either too timid or too omnipotent.