The United Nations Security Council and War

The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

Edited by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum

First comprehensive examination of the UN Security Council's efforts to address war
Engagingly written by leading international scholars
Provides unique, easily accessible, and up-to-date resource for researchers and practitioners, making it an indispensable reference work

The United Nations Security Council and War

The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

Edited by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum

Description

This is the first major exploration of the United Nations Security Council's part in addressing the problem of war, both civil and international, since 1945. Both during and after the Cold War the Council has acted in a limited and selective manner, and its work has sometimes resulted in failure. It has not been--and was never equipped to be--the center of a comprehensive system of collective security. However, it remains the body charged with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It offers unique opportunities for international consultation and military collaboration, and for developing legal and normative frameworks. It has played a part in the reduction in the incidence of international war in the period since 1945.

The United Nations Security Council and War examines the extent to which the work of the UN Security Council, as it has evolved, has or has not replaced older systems of power politics and practices regarding the use of force. Its starting point is the failure to implement the UN Charter scheme of having combat forces under direct UN command. Instead, the Council has advanced the use of international peacekeeping forces; it has authorized coalitions of states to take military action; and it has developed some unanticipated roles such as the establishment of post-conflict transitional administrations, international criminal tribunals, and anti-terrorism committees.

The book, bringing together distinguished scholars and practitioners, draws on the methods of the lawyer, the historian, the student of international relations, and the practitioner. It begins with an introductory overview of the Council's evolving roles and responsibilities. It then discusses specific thematic issues, and through a wide range of case studies examines the scope and limitations of the Council's involvement in war. It offers frank accounts of how belligerents viewed the UN, and how the Council acted and sometimes failed to act. The appendices provide comprehensive information--much of it not previously brought together in this form--of the extraordinary range of the Council's activities.

This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.

The United Nations Security Council and War

The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

Edited by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum

1. Introduction, Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum
Part One: The Framework
2. A Council for All Seasons: The Creation of the Security Council and Its Relevance Today, Edward C. Luck
3. The Charter Limitations on the Use of Force: Theory and Practice, Christine Gray
4. Proposals for UN Standing Forces: A Critical History, Adam Roberts
Part Two: The Roles of the Security Council
5. The Great Powers and the Security Council, Nico Krisch
6. The Security Council, the General Assembly, and War: The Uniting for Peace Resolution, Dominik Zaum
7. The Security Council and Peacekeeping, Mats Berdal
8. The Sanctions Era: Themes and Trends in UN Security Council Sanctions since 1990, David Cortright, George Lopez, and Linda Gerber Stellingwerf
9. The Authorization by the Security Council of Regional Arrangements to Use Force: The Case of NATO, Dan Sarooshi
10. The Security Council in the Post-Cold War World, Jeremy Greenstock
Part Three: Case Studies
11. The United Nations, the Security Council, and the Korean War, William Stueck
12. The Suez Crisis and the British Dilemma at the United Nations, Roger Louis
13. The Security Council and the Arab-Israeli Wars: Responsibility without Power, Bruce Jones
14. The Security Council and the India-Pakistan Wars, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury
15. The Security Council and the Question of East Timor, Peter Carey with Pat Walsh
16. The Security Council and the Iran-Iraq War, Charles Tripp
17. The Security Council and the 1991 and 2003 Iraq Wars, James Cockayne and David Malone
18. The Security Council and the Wars in the former Yugoslavia, Susan Woodward
19. The Security Council and the Bosnia Conflict: A Practitioner's View, Rupert Smith
20. The Security Council and Afghanistan, Gilles Dorronsoro
21. The Security Council and Three Wars in West Africa, Adekeye Adebajo
22. The Security Council in the Wings: Exploring the Non-Involvement of the Security Council in Wars, J.P.D. Dunbabin
Part IV: The Security Council and the Changing Character of War
23. The Different Functions of the Security Council with Respect to Humanitarian Law, Georg Nolte
24. The Security Council and Interventions with Humanitarian Purposes, Jennifer Welsh
25. The Security Council and International Administration of War-Torn and Contested Territories, Richard Caplan
26. The Security Council and International Law on Military Occupations, David Scheffer
27. The Security Council and Terrorism, Jane Boulden
28. The Security Council and the Use of Private Force, Sarah Percy
Appendices
1. UN Peacekeeping Operations, 1945 - 2006
2. UN Forces, Missions, and Institutions not Classified as Peacekeeping Operations, 1945 - 2006
3. UN-Authorized Military Operations, 1945 - 2006
4. UN-Authorized Sanctions, 1945 - 2006
5. Vetoed Security Council Resolutions, 1945 - 2006
6. Uses of the Uniting for Peace Resolution, 1950 - 2006
7. List of Armed Conflicts and Crises, 1945 - 2006

The United Nations Security Council and War

The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

Edited by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum

Author Information

Vaughan Lowe is Chichele Professor of Public International Law, and a Fellow of All Souls College, in the Oxford University. He also practices in the field of international law as a barrister from Essex Court Chambers, London and has appeared in cases before English and International courts, and sits on international tribunals.

Sir Adam Roberts was Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, and a Fellow of Balliol College, from 1986 to 2007. His books include (ed. with Benedict Kingsbury), United Nations, Divided World: The UN's Roles in International Relations, 2nd edn. (OUP 1993), and (ed. with Richard Guelff), Documents on the Laws of War, 3rd edn. (OUP 2000).

Jennifer Welsh is Professor in International Relations at Oxford University and a Fellow of Somerville College. She is the author, most recently, of At Home In The World: Canada's Global Vision For The 21st Century, and editor of Humanitarian Intervention and International Relations (OUP 2003). She was recently named a Trudeau Fellow, and is currently on a Leverhulme research grant working on a project on 'sovereignty as responsibility'.

Dominik Zaum is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Reading, and author of The Sovereignty Paradox: The Norms and Politics of International Statebuilding (OUP 2007).

Contributors:

Adekeye Adebajo
Mats Berdal
Jane Boulden
Richard Caplan
James Cockayne
David Cortright
Gilles Dorronsoro
J.P.D. Dunbabin
Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf
Christine Gray
Sir Jeremy Greenstock
Bruce Jones
Nico Krisch
George A. Lopez
William Roger Louis
Edward C. Luck
David Malone
Sarah Percy
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury
Dan Sarooshi
David Scheffer
General Sir Rupert Smith
William Stueck
Charles Tripp
Susan Woodward

The United Nations Security Council and War

The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

Edited by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh, and Dominik Zaum

Reviews and Awards

"This substantial, comprehensive, and authoritative volume contains 28 chapters by leading academics, lawyers, and practitioners, plus detailed appendices covering UN resolutions, sanctions, and operations."--Foreign Affairs

"A magnificent achievement...this book will stand out as an indispensable tool in the vast literature on the UN Security Council, set apart by the quality of its research, the wealth of extensive and carefully researched data it contains, as well as the diversity of viewpoints it offers."--Survival

"A useful reference work that supplements smaller studies...Summing Up: Recommended."--CHOICE

"This excellent edited collection...consistently high standard we should not forget that for better or worse the UN can only work well when its Great Powers work together. Analysts and policy-makers alike would be better prepared to bring this about if they read this important new book."--International Affairs

"A definitive interdisciplinary work on an important subject...The depth of knowledge and experience provides fascinating and essential reading for anyone interested in the area of international peace and security, regardless of their disciplinary background and whether practitioner or academic."--International and Comparative Law Quarterly

"An essential work, full of astute observations. Set apart by the wealth of ideas and diversity of viewpoints, this edited collection provides a seminal and well-balanced account of the Security Council's dealing with war since 1945."--German Yearbook of International Law

"An incredible achievement, magisterial and definitive. This is an essential work on anyone's bookshelf."--Professor Lawrence Freedman