The Best Intentions Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power

by Traub, James

• ISBN13: 9780312426743
• ISBN10: 0312426747
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-30
• Publisher: Picador

Summary

Updated for the Paperback Edition During his first term as secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan was one of the most widely admired men in the world. In 2001, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Then the UN failed to stop war in Iraq and genocide in Darfur, and the institution was engulfed by the Oil-for-Food scandal. By the time Annan left office in December 2006, both he and the UN had suffered a terrible loss of standing. Did the UN's failures arise from its own structure and culture or from a clash with an American administration determined to go its own way in defiance of world opinion? InThe Best Intentions,New York Times Magazinewriter James Traub traces the entwined histories of Kofi Annan and the UN from 1992 to the present, and offers a definitive portrait of the institution's role in the age of American dominance.

Author Biography

James Traub has been a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine--where he writes about international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, and national political issues--since 1998. He has written three books, including City on a Hill and The Devil's Playground. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
A Greater Magna Carta...	p. 3
A Gold Coast Man	p. 29
Peace, Not Justice	p. 44
The American Candidate	p. 67
Kofi in the Lion's Den	p. 83
Bosnia Never Again	p. 102
The Exquisite Ironies of Benevolent Colonialism	p. 124
Romancing Cousin Jesse	p. 146
Who's Going to Run Afghanistan?	p. 169
Saddam's Pyrrhic Victory	p. 187
"What Did They Die For?"	p. 212
The Security Council Fiddles While Darfur Burns	p. 233
The Gentle King and His Court	p. 255
Two Cheers-If That-for Diplomacy	p. 266
Oil-for-Food: The Witch Hunt	p. 281
Kofi Briefly Rescued by Disaster	p. 305
Nice Guys Get Crushed	p. 316
"They're Laughing at Us in Khartoum"	p. 339
Oil-for-Food: The Nightmare	p. 359
The Black Hole of Kinshasa	p. 377
America's Interest in UN Reform Is...What, Exactly?	p. 399
John Bolton's Nuclear Strategy	p. 415
Model UN	p. 445
Epilogue	p. 453
Afterword	p. 469
A Note on Sources	p. 479
Acknowledgments	p. 483
Index	p. 485
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