Global International Organisation: United Nations in the World (Online Module)

The module aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the UN and the UN system. It examines the context provided by situating the UN within other International Organisations (IOs). Understanding the heritage, operation, and goals of the UN and its constituent parts will add breadth and depth to the student experience. The module starts by examining the ways in which International Organisations came into being and how they evolved into the United Nations Organisation in 1945. A theoretical foundation is then given, before the rest of the module concentrates on the ways in which the UN system has changed in recent years, and asks what the short and medium-term effect of these changes are likely to be. Particular attention will be given to peacekeeping and collective security, and human rights. A number of important sub-themes will run throughout: the changing role of the state in the contemporary global system and how this has had an effect on the working of the UN; the importance of non-western perspectives on the UN as expressed through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM); and critical perspectives on the Security Council.

All modules are subject to availability and are subject to change from session to session.

Suggested reading

The UN Charter – available at the http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/
Thomas G. Weiss & Sam Daws, The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations, Oxford OUP, 2008

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules