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The UN is now an outdated body, discuss.

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“The UN is now an outdated body.” Discuss. The United Nations is a body that was set up at the end of WWII to maintain peace and security amongst states. The UN is the successor to what was the League of Nations. The League of Nations, set up after WWI by President Wilson, had a similar goal to that of the UN's. To maintain peace and security, and at the time, attempt to prevent another World War. This of course was not achieved. In regards to the question stated, there are differing opinions as to whether the UN is now obsolete and unnecessary as a body. In this essay I will discuss both sides of the argument before concluding whether or not the UN is an outdated body. First, I will discuss the views that the UN is now outdated and …show more content…

This was illustrated with the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and by the difficulties in the UN carrying out its peacekeeping role. Another example can be seen in the recent case of Syria. Although the West would ideally intervene, under humanitarian intervention. Within the UN security council, Russia and China would use their power of veto since they resent Western influence, specifically in a geographical location near to their own. This conflict over self interest between West and East states leaves the UN Security Council regularly in stalemate. However, on the other hand, some suggest that the UN can be defended. They would argue that the UN is not outdated, but that it played an important role in our ever changing world order. In relation to peacekeeping, its primary limitations are not so much internal as ones that stem from the politics of of Great Power rivalry. Nevertheless, after the end of the Cold War the UN supported the trend towards humanitarian intervention. The UN has been keen to respond to the rise of interdependence and has underlined the importance of human rights in global politics somewhat successfully. The UN is considered by many to remain up to date in its willingness to expand its agenda and broaden its concerns. Especially in relation to economic

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