Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain: The United Nations at Fifty

293 Pages·1998·27.27 MB·English

by  Ramesh Thakur (eds.)

PAST IMPERFECT, FUTURE UNCERTAIN
Also by Ramesh Thakur
A CRISIS OF EXPECTATIONS: UN Peacekeeping in the 1990s (editor
with Carlyle A. Thayer)
*
TilE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF INDIA
IN DEFENCE OF NEW ZEALAND: Foreign Policy Choices in the
Nuclear Age
INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION (editor)
INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING IN LEBANON: United Nations
Authority and Multinational Force
PEACEKEEPING IN VIETNAM: Canada, India, Poland and the
International Commission
TilE POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY
RESHAPING REGIONAL RELATIONS: Asia Pacific and the Former
Soviet Union (editor with Carlyle A. Thayer)
* TilE SOUTII PACIFIC: Problems, Issues and Prospects (editor)
*
SOVIET RELATIONS WITII INDIA AND VIETNAM
(with Carlyle A. Thayer)
TilE SOVIET UNION AS AN ASIAN PACIFIC POWER: Implications
of Gorbachev 's 1986 Vladivostok Initiative (editor with
Carlyle A. Thayer)
* From the same publishers
Past Imperfect,
Future UNcertain
The United Nations at Fifty
Edited by
Ramesh Thakur
Professor and Head
Peace Research Centre, Research School ofP acific and Asian Studies
Australian National University
Foreword by Don McKinnon
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-71624-3 ISBN 978-1-349-26336-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-26336-3
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-21246-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Past imperfect, future UNcertain : the United Nations at fifty I
edited by Ramesh Thakur.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-21246-9 (cloth)
I. United Nations. 2. Peace. 3. Security, International.
I. Thakur, Ramesh Chandra, 1948-
JZ4986.P37 1997
341.23-<lc21 97-40993
CIP
Selection and editorial matter © Ramesh Thakur 1998
Foreword © Don McKinnon 1998
Text © Macmillan Press Ltd 1998
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10987654 3 2 I
07 06 OS 04 03 02 01 00 99 98
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Notes on the Contributors IX
List of Abbreviations xiv
Foreword, Don McKinnon xvii
1 Introduction, Ramesh Thakur
2 The Achievements and Shortcomings
of the United Nations, Malcolm Templeton 15
3 Cooperating for Peace, Gareth Evans 33
4 The United Nations and the Mediation
of International Disputes, Jacob Bercovitch 47
5 UN Peacekeeping: Cosmetic or
Comprehensive? Reginald H. F. Austin 63
6 A UN Agenda for Development: Reflections
on the Social Question in the South, Jorge Heine 85
7 Peacekeeping in Africa: A New Zealand Defence
Force Perspective, Tom O'Reilly 93
8 The UNTA C Military Component,
John M. Sanderson 112
9 The Bosnia Experience, Michael Rose 135
v
vi Contents
10 Reforming The Security Council:
A Japanese Perspective, Takahiro Shinyo 147
11 An Asian Perspective on the United Nations
System, S. K. Singh 163
12 The Adaptation of the United Nations
to a Turbulent World, James N. Rosenau 176
13 Reforming the United Nations, Keith Suter 189
14 Promoting Peacemaking and Peacekeeping:
The Role and Perspective of the International
Peace Academy, Olara A. Otunnu 205
15 Global Governance and the United Nations,
A. J. R. Groom 219
16 Summary: A Mid-Life Crisis for the UN at Fifty,
Bruce Brown 243
Index 263
Acknowledgments
That the Otago Foreign Policy School is now into its 30th year is a
tribute to those who had the vision to initiate this symposium thirty
years ago. As Director of the 30th School and Editor of the resulting
proceedings, it is my duty, privilege and pleasure to thank all those
involved in making this such a successful occasion and rewarding ex-
perience. Pride of place must go to the Academic Committee: Dr
William Harris, Dr Terence Hearn, Dr Mohammad Jaforullah, Dr
Louis Leland, Dr Robert Patman, Dr Elena Poletti, Dr Roberto Rabel,
Professor Ann Trotter, and Professor G. Antony Wood. Their role
was even greater than usual because this year, for the final six months
of the two-year planning process, the Director was based in Canberra.
Drs Hearn and Poletti in particular had to shoulder much of the
logistical burden in the final weeks leading up to the School.
Second, I would like to thank all the speakers. They came from
many different comers of the world, some to fulfil a commitment of
long standing, others as the result of calls at shorter notice. In the end
we assembled a truly distinguished galaxy of eminent persons who are
extremely busy in their respective walks of life. All took time off not
simply to attend, but to prepare and deliver very substantial and
thoughtful papers. The gist of their addresses, and the ensuing debates
that were generated, will stay in our minds for years to come as we, no
less than the United Nations, struggle to make sense of the cascading
world around us. What was remarkable was how on balance, despite
the heavy dose of realism that pervaded all discussion, there was a
counsel of hope more than despair coming out of the School. Clearly,
reports of the death of the United Nations system have been much
exaggerated.
Vll
viii Acknowledgments
Third, I would like to thank all those whose support and sponsor-
ship made it possible to assemble such a sparkling constellation of
speakers and a matching group of participants: the UN Association of
New Zealand, the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the NZ
Ministry of Defence, the NZ Defence Force, the NZ Centre for
Strategic Studies, the NZ Institute of International Affairs, the Public
Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control, the British
Council, the Embassy of Japan, and the Embassy of the United States
of America. Long may their association with the Otago Foreign Policy
School continue.
Fourth, a special debt of gratitude is owed to all those who agreed
to take on the responsibility of chairing the various sessions. We
began, ~tayed and finished on time: not a small achievement over four
days for such a large gathering. The main credit for this must lie with
the chairpersons who performed their tasks with diligence, grace and
good humour. This can be a difficult task, a delicate task, and often a
thankless task at the time. So it is appropriate that I record my and the
participants' thanks in this manner.
Finally, and most importantly as far as the School itself is
concerned, I would like to thank the participants. There would be no
School without them. They came, they stayed, they listened and they
contributed. They came in the dozens: at around 150 participants, this
was the largest School ever. They came through snow and sleet, and
by bus via Invercargill as well as by air, to conquer Dunedin's winter
at its best: crisp frosty mornings and bright sunny days after the initial
snowstorm.
The editing of the proceedings has been done back in Canberra. I
would like to thank Jan Preston-Stanley of the Peace Research Centre
for much of the follow-up work that had to be done in getting final
copies of papers in reasonable time, and for some re-typing that had to
be done. Christine Wilson and Mary-Louise Hickey, also of the Peace
Research Centre, assisted with their usual thoroughness in reading
through all the manuscripts and compiling the index.
RAMESH THAKUR
Canberra, February 1997
Notes on the Contributors
Reginald H. F. Austin of Zimbabwe has been the Director of
the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth
Secretariat since 1994. He was educated at the University of Cape
Town and University College London and lectured at the latter for
several years before moving in 1982 to the University of Zimbabwe as
Professor and Dean of the Law Faculty. He has consulted widely both
in Zimbabwe and internationally. including being a member of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission ( 1984-90). Director of th.e Electoral
Component of UNTAC (1992-3). and Director of the Electoral
Component of the UN Observer Mission in South Africa (1994).
Professor Austin was also Vice-Chairman of the Zimbabwe Red Cross
Society (1983-92).
Jacob Bercovitch is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at
the University of Canterbury. Christchurch. He has also taught at the
universities of Harvard. London and Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D.
from the London School of Economics in 1980. He is the author and
editor of eight books and more than 50 articles. his most recent book
being Resolving International Conflicts: The Structure ofI nternational
Mediation (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1995)~ His main research
interests are international conflict resolution and mediation.
Bruce Brown is in his second term (from 1993) as Director of the
New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, having served as the
first Director (1969-71). He began his career as Private Secretary to
the Rt Hon. Walter Nash (Leader of the Opposition 1954-7. Prime
Minister 1957-9). and joined the Department of External Affairs in
1959. His postings included the NZ Permanent Mission to the UN in
IX