United Nations and International Organizations

Catalog description

This course explores the United Nations and other international, regional, and nongovernmental organizations within the context of the dynamics of world politics. It asks: why were these organizations created, how are they organized, and what they try accomplish? Addressing these questions, we will (a) look at the historical antecedents of modern global organizations and consider how various theoretical approaches explain their activities. We will (b) then analyze the structures and actions of states and international organizations, giving a specific attention to the role of the United Nations and the United States on a number of issues such as peace and security, humanitarian intervention, sanctions and nuclear proliferation. The third section (c) will delve into nongovernmental organizations including human rights, women’s rights, development, climate change and, multinational corporations. How global organizations approach future challenges and how they may achieve global justice will be our continued interest. By the end of the semester, students should be familiar with the role and activities of international organizations as well as the analytical tools used to critically understand and analyze them.