The United Nations and Reform

In this module you will:

  • Learn about some current debates about the UN structure, and
  • Learn about reform proposals for the UN.



To prepare for tutorials you should:
  1. Complete the two readings
  2. Complete the activities


Readings and Resources

Engel, Susan, 2015, "Some Notes on UN Reform" OpenUOW March File:Notes on UN Reform March2015.pdf

Brown, Mark M., 2007, Can the UN be reformed?, John W. Holmes Memorial Lecture, Academic Council on the UN System.

Extension Reading

Schlichtmann, Klaus, 2011, An Enduring Concept for Security Council Reform, Beijing Law Review, Vol 2 pp. 97-110, accessed on 26th February 2014



Activity

Answer these questions and write the answers in a blog post, and tweet the URL to at least one of the answers to the group with the hashtag #UOWMUN

  1. Research other models of UN reform, and write one paragraph on a model that has not been presented in your course material
  2. Is the UN a viable institution that can be reformed, or should it be removed?
  3. Is world governance a viable option for solving the world's problems?





Extension exercise

Shashi Tharoor, delivering the Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture at the Sanford School at Duke University on 3rd January 2007. Tharoor was previously an Under-Secretary General at the United Nations.