A study in the political effectiveness of an international administrator : the political role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations under Dag Hammarskjold

1965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Taylor Hoskins, II
1982 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 951
Author(s):  
Keith S. Petersen ◽  
John W. Halderman ◽  
Chiang Pei-heng

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Sarkin

This article examines how effective the African Union (AU) has been in pushing states to be more democratic in nature and to respect, protect, fulfil and promote the human rights of their inhabitants. It reviews the political role of the AU in this regard using the situation in Swaziland to do so. The article also examines Swaziland at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process as a comparative tool.


1962 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 720-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leland M. Goodrich

For the purposes of this discussion, the political role of the Secretary General is defined in somewhat narrow terms. It is not intended to discuss his role in the development of policy generally, which would be a possible way of viewing the subject. Rather, attention will be given to the role of the Secretary-General in the discharge of one of the major responsibilities of the United Nations—the maintenance of international peace and security. Consequently, the role of the Secretary-General in developing and executing policies and programs of economic and social development, which has come to be one of the major fields of activity of the Organization, will not be touched upon, except incidentally.


The United Nations Secretary-General and the United Nations Security Council spend significant amounts of time on their relationship with each other. They rely on each other for such important activities as peacekeeping, international mediation, and the formulation and application of normative standards in defense of international peace and security—in other words, the executive aspects of the UN’s work. The edited book The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council: A Dynamic Relationship aims to fill an important lacuna in the scholarship on the UN system. Although there exists an impressive body of literature on the development and significance of the Secretariat and the Security Council as separate organs, an important gap remains in our understanding of the interactions between them. Bringing together some of the most prominent authorities on the subject, this volume is the first book-length treatment of this topic. It studies the UN from an innovative angle, creating new insights on the (autonomous) policy-making of international organizations and adding to our understanding of the dynamics of intra-organizational relationships. Within the book, the contributors examine how each Secretary-General interacted with the Security Council, touching upon such issues as the role of personality, the formal and informal infrastructure of the relationship, the selection and appointment processes, as well as the Secretary-General’s threefold role as a crisis manager, administrative manager, and manager of ideas.


1961 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey L. Goodwin

Charting the course of attitudes in Britain toward the United Nations is mainly a matter of defining small gradations within a fairly limited range, a range varying from sympathetic concern—and ritualistic commendation—at one end of the spectrum to barely dis uised indifference at the other. Among a small section of radical public opinion the Organization can still (August 1961) arouse fervent support, while the right-wing Beaverbrook press and its sympathizers lose few opportunities of pointing out its deficiencies. Nevertheless, during most of its fifteen years' existence, so far as public interest in Britain in its political activities is concerned, the limited impact the United Nations has had on most of the major issues of peace and war has discouraged “popular opinion” from waxing very enthusiastic-or bitter-about it; indeed, although a generally accepted part of international life, it has for long periods languished relatively unnoticed in a diplomatic backwater. Only at such moments of crisis as Korea, Suez, or the Congo, when the Organization has been forced into the mainstream of international politics has this rather tepid reaction been punctuated by heightened tension—and acrimony.


2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palitha T. B. Kohona

This Note will examine developments in the practice of the United Nations secretary-general on reservations and declarations to treaties, particularly since 1994 when the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties was last updated. This period was marked by some notable developments in the previous practice, especially in connection with human rights treaties.The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 (Vienna Convention) provides the framework for the functions of the secretary-general in his role as depositary of multilateral treaties. Most aspects of the law relating to reservations and declarations to treaties are also codified in the Vienna Convention.Over five hundred multilateral treaties are deposited with the secretary-general. The complex requirements relating to these treaties and the concerns of the many disparate states that may undertake treaty actions with regard to them have significantly influenced his practice. He is also conscious of the political sensitivities surrounding his decisions and the need to protect his own integrity and impartiality.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document