The United Nations Security Council and War The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945

by Lowe, Vaughan; Roberts, Adam; Welsh, Jennifer; Zaum, Dominik

• ISBN13: 9780199583300
• ISBN10: 0199583307
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

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 centre 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 since1945. This study 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.

Author Biography

Vaughan Lowe is Chichele Professor of International Law, All Souls College, University of Oxford.
Adam Roberts is Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford.
Jennifer Welsh is Professor in International Relations, Somerville College, University of Oxford.
Dominik Zaum is Reader in International Relations, University of Reading.

Table of Contents

List of Acronyms	p. xi
List of Contributors	p. xvii
Introduction: The Editors	p. 1
The Framework
A Council for All Seasons: The Creation of the Security Council and Its Relevance Today	p. 61
The Charter Limitations on the Use of Force: Theory and Practice	p. 86
Proposals for UN Standing Forces: A Critical History	p. 99
The Roles of the Security Council
The Security Council and the Great Powers	p. 133
The Security Council, the General Assembly, and War: The Uniting for Peace Resolution	p. 154
The Security Council and Peacekeeping	p. 175
The Sanctions Era: Themes and Trends in UN Security Council Sanctions since 1990	p. 205
The Security Council's Authorization of Regional Arrangements to Use Force: The Case of NATO	p. 226
The Security Council in the Post-Cold War World	p. 248
Case Studies
The United Nations, the Security Council, and the Korean War	p. 265
The Suez Crisis and the British Dilemma at the United Nations	p. 280
The Security Council and the Arab-Israeli Wars: 'Responsibility without Power'	p. 298
The Security Council and the India-Pakistan Wars	p. 324
The Security Council and East Timor	p. 346
The Security Council and the Iran-Iraq War	p. 368
The Security Council and the 1991 and 2003 Wars in Iraq	p. 384
The Security Council and the Wars in the Former Yugoslavia	p. 406
The Security Council and the Bosnian Conflict: A Practitioner's View	p. 442
The Security Council and the Afghan Conflict	p. 452
The Security Council and Three Wars in West Africa	p. 466
The Security Council in the Wings: Exploring the Security Council's Non-involvement in Wars	p. 494
The Security Council and the Changing Character of War
The Different Functions of the Security Council with Respect to Humanitarian Law	p. 519
The Security Council and Humanitarian Intervention	p. 535
The Security Council and the Administration of War-torn and Contested Territories	p. 563
The Security Council and International Law on Military Occupations	p. 580
The Security Council and Terrorism	p. 608
The Security Council and the Use of Private Force	p. 624
Appendices
UN Peacekeeping Operations, 1945-2006	p. 643
UN Missions, Institutions, and Forces not Classified as Peacekeeping Operations, 1945-2006	p. 663
UN-Authorized Military Operations, 1945-2006	p. 672
UN-Authorized Sanctions, 1945-2006	p. 678
Vetoed Resolutions in the UN Security Council, 1945-2006	p. 688
Uses of the Uniting for Peace Resolution, 1950-2006	p. 706
List of Armed Conflicts and Crises, 1945-2006	p. 709
Index	p. 745
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