Introduction to the United Nations - 05: Collective Security and Peacekeeping

Michael Rossi Department of Political Science Program in International Relations This lecture discusses the capabilities and responsibilities of the United Nations in maintaining peace and collective security. More specifically, it asks if the UN has both the right and the moral obligation to intervene in the affairs of a state. As part of the UN Charter, the United Nations has a series of principles to uphold and defend, and state sovereignty, which has long been understood as a monopoly on authority, takes precedence over external interference. But in the wake of the Second World War, and in light of a number of safeguards smaller states wanted the UN to be empowered with at the San Francisco Convention, the United Nations does have a moral responsibility to defend human rights and promote human well-being. If this means intervening in the affairs of a state or group of states through a variety of measures other than military action, then so be it. Chapter Markers 00:00:00 - 00:11:23 - The International System of the Past Thirty Years 00:11:23 - 00:16:31 - Three Big Questions 00:16:31 - 00:19:51 - Actors in the United Nations System 00:19:51 - 00:29:24 - The Primary, yet Dwindling, Power of States 00:29:24 - 00:32:10 - The UN and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security 00:32:10 - 00:35:19 - And What Kind of Intervention is Warranted? 00;35:19 - 00:37:24 - Liberalist Principles for Intervention 00:37:24 - 00:50:48 - What Constitutes "Intervention"? 00:50:48 - 00:52:15 - Where UN Peacekeepers Have Been Deployed 00:52:15 - 00:54:12 - Current UN Peacekeeping Operations Around the World 00:54:12 - 00:56:25 - Who is Manning the Peacekeeping Missions? 00:56:25 - 01:00:00 - The Limited Success of Peacekeeping 01:00:00 - 01:17:38 - Intervention and Selective Diplomacy for R2P 01:17:38 - 01:24:58 - A Summation of Concepts of Intervention 01:24:58 - 01:37:28 - So, Can the UN Intervene?