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"Alas, Thomas Weiss has written a very good book - he makes clear how badly the UN is broken." Economic and Political Weekly "By any standard, this is a work of unusual ambition, scope, and insight. Only Tom Weiss, one of the UN s most prolific and experienced observers, could so adroitly capture the world body s perils and promise with such a winning combination of clarity, rigor, and wisdom." Edward C. Luck, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General "A comprehensive and extremely thoughtful analysis by the leading scholar of the UN in the United States, this should be on the required reading list for the US president, and the leaders of other nations as well." Craig N. Murphy, Wellesley College and University of Massachusetts Boston This is a very timely book, given the broad spectrum of growing difficulties facing the international system and the United Nations. It provides an analytically powerful and empirically rich account of a UN in crisis, followed by a range of sensible suggestions to place the world organization on a more sound footing in its address of deepening challenges. It speaks to issues of profound scholarly and policy relevance in a way that is eminently accessible to a wide range of readers. S. Neil MacFarlane, St Anne s College, University of Oxford

Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor at the City University of New York s Graduate Center and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.

About the Author viii Foreword by Sir Brian Urquhart x Acknowledgments xiii List of Figures and Tables xvi List of Abbreviations xviii Introduction 1 Part One: Diagnosing the Ills 1 Westphalia, Alive But Not Well 19 2 North South Theater 50 3 The Feudal System, or Dysfunctional Family 73 4 Overwhelming Bureaucracy and Underwhelming Leadership 111 Part Two: Palliatives if Not Cures 5 Redefining National Interests 133 6 Moving Beyond the North South Divide 160 7 Truly Delivering as One 180 8 Reinvigorating the International Civil Service 198 Conclusion: What s Next? 223 Selected Readings 242 Notes 246 Index 279