Adapting the United Nations to a postmodern era: lessons learned

Cover -- Contents -- List of Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Foreword -- Notes on the Contributors -- Introduction: Adapting the United Nations -- Part I Conceptualizing Change in the United Nations -- 1 Requirements of Multilateral Governance for Promoting Human Security in a Postmodern Era -- 2 Learning in the United Nations -- Part II Adaptations of UN Primary Concepts and Instruments -- 3 Collective Security: Changing Conceptions and Institutional Adaptation -- 4 Possibilities for Preventive Diplomacy, Early Warning and Global Monitoring in the Post-Cold War Era -- or, the Limits to Global Structural Change -- 5 The United Nations and Preventive Deployment in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- 6 UN Intervention and Peacebuilding in Somalia: Constraints and Possibilities -- 7 International Criminal Law Enforcement -- Part III Cases -- 8 UN Fact-Finding in a Postmodern World: Potential for Arms Limitation and Confidence-Building -- 9 The Future Role of the United Nations in Disarmament: Learning from the Iraq Experience -- 10 The Civilian Police Element in UN Peacekeeping: The Case of Haiti -- 11 The Neutralization of Protracted Conflicts: The Case of UNTAC -- 12 Pivots of Peace: UN Transitional Operations -- 13 The United Nations and NATO's War: The Fallout from Kosovo -- 14 Improving the Capacity of the United Nations' Human Rights System -- 15 Environmental Security: Finding the Balance -- 16 Changing the Global Trade Structure: From 'Harmonization' to a New 'Interface Principle' -- Conclusion: Rethinking instead of Tinkering - an Ethical Consensus and General Lessons -- Index.

This volume addresses the central theme of adjusting the United Nations system in light of, firstly, the broadening definition of security, secondly, a perceived shift from modernity to post-modernity; and finally, the contemporary debate about reform, adaptation and institutional learning in multilateral institutions during transnational periods. The UN has not been successful in learning appropriate lessons that could facilitate requisite changes to its structure and operations. Thus the authors in this study focus on the lessons learned from the organizations' recent performance in collective security, preventative diplomacy, preventative deployment, peacekeeping, peacemaking, peace maintenance, and international legal, environmental and trade regulation