The United Nations and Contemporary Global Governance

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to the United Nations and contemporary global governance, including definitions of international organizations, their powers, and the UN's structure and aims.

Immanuel Kant

An internationalist who imagined the possibility of a global government.

Jeremy Bentham

An internationalist who imagined the possibility of a global government.

Global Norms

Certain accepted standards of behavior that states in an international order adhere to, creating a semblance of world order despite the lack of a single world government.

Global Governance

The various intersecting processes that create world order, designating all regulations intended for the organization and centralization of human societies on a global scale.

Public International Law

International rules that govern interactions between states.

International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Organizations that, without formal state power, can lobby individual states to behave in a certain way.

International Organization

An organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law, possessing its own international legal personality, primarily composed of member states.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO)

Organizations formed between two or more governments that come together for a specific purpose, sharing national experts and resources.

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO)

Organizations that work to solve problems around the world, not connected to any government, and are free to work towards their goals without government interference.

Power of Classification (International Organizations)

The ability of International Organizations to invent and apply categories, creating powerful global standards, for example, defining what a refugee is.

Power to Fix Meanings (International Organizations)

The function of International Organizations to well-define various terms like 'security' and 'development,' with these definitions influencing policies as IOs are viewed as legitimate sources of information.

Power to Diffuse Norms (International Organizations)

The ability of International Organizations to spread accepted codes of conduct and ideas across the world, thereby establishing global standards, due to their independent bureaucracies of experts.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization established on October 24, 1945, headquartered in New York City, aiming to save future generations from war, reaffirm human rights, and promote social progress.

League of Nations

The predecessor to the United Nations, created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and disbanded in 1946.

UN Charter Aims

To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, establish conditions for justice, and promote social progress and better standards of life.

The General Assembly (GA)

One of the five active organs of the UN, where decisions on important questions require a two-thirds majority and other questions a simple majority.

The Security Council (UNSC)

The UN's most powerful body with primary responsibility for international peace and security, comprising five permanent members and ten elected members, capable of dispatching military operations and imposing sanctions.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

One of the five principal organs of the UN, responsible for the direction and coordination of the economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural activities carried out by the UN.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Also known as the World Court, it is the main judicial organ of the UN, established in 1945, which settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions.

The Secretariat

Administers and coordinates the activities of the United Nations, consisting of an international civil service at UN Headquarters and regional offices, headed by the UN Secretary-General.

Challenges of the United Nations

Include the limits placed upon its various organs and programs by the need to respect state sovereignty.