Читать книгу A United Nations Renaissance - John E. Trent - Страница 11

This primer on global governance and United Nations reform analyzes the organization in its current form while offering alternatives for the future. It aims to provide the fundamentals to those who are relatively new to the subject. It seeks to be informative and thought-provoking while remaining accessible to a broad range of audiences, varying from students to practitioners.

It is designed to:

• provide an overview of essential information about the United Nations system including its historical and global context;

• delve into the UN’s record on its three ‘pillars’: human rights, peace and security, and development;

• introduce various ideas and proposals for renewing the organization so it can better meet the demands of tomorrow; and

• explore the role of norms, values and attitudes as well as diverse actors in building a movement for a UN renaissance.

We take the notion of renaissance to have two meanings. First, it is used to refer to renewal, rebirth, revival or even spring, which leads us to think about change, reform and transformation at the UN. The second sense refers to the essential meaning of the historical renaissance as ‘a return to origins’. Dotted throughout the book are references to the UN’s founding objectives, which included preventing the scourge of war, getting great powers to cooperate on essential decision making, striving to protect human rights, and ensuring economic coordination. This book is dedicated to a renewed search for the initial aims of the United Nations: peace, development, cooperation and human rights—and, indeed, much more as the world has continued to evolve. Thus, we use renaissance to call for a transformation of the UN that remains deeply rooted in its original lofty goals.

We hope this book prepares and inspires readers to join and expand existing efforts to achieve this renaissance.