Recent tensions surrounding the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran, as well as the shocking revelations of A.Q. Khan’s atomic bazaar, have drawn attention to the role of the United Nations in addressing a host of nuclear challenges. Yet the world organization’s role has largely been absent from both scholarly and policy research. The United Nations and Nuclear Orders fills this void by shedding light on the past, present and future roles of the UN in responding to the threats and challenges posed by nuclear weapons.
This book brings together a world-class team of authors to examine UN actors, tools and issues associated with the changing nature of the environment in which it operates; the ways in which it has and might respond to technological and political problems; and the questions and difficulties that arise for the world organization. Issues covered in the book include doctrinal questions on the use of force, the regional dynamics of nuclear proliferation, and the growing concern that the nuclear order established by the NPT may collapse or simply be overtaken by events.
Jane Boulden holds a Canada Research Chair in international relations and security studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. Ramesh Thakur, former UN assistant secretary-general, is the foundation director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a distinguished fellow of The Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Canada. Thomas G. Weiss is the presidential professor of political science at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.
