The United Nations and Nuclear Orders

Edited by Jane Boulden, Ramesh Thakur, and Thomas G. Weiss

The United Nations and Nuclear Orders
Edited by Jane Boulden, Ramesh Thakur, and Thomas G. Weiss

978-92-808-1167-4
300 pages; paper; US$34.00
June 2009

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 Foundation Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Canada. Thomas G. Weiss is 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.

Foreword, Jayantha Dhanapala
Introduction and context, Jane Boulden, Ramesh Thakur, and Thomas G. Weiss

Actors

The Security Council, Ernie Regehr
General Assembly majorities on preferred nuclear orders, M. J. Peterson
The Secretary-General and Secretariat, Randy Rydell

Actual and Potential Tools

United Nations sanctions and nuclear weapons, David Cortright and George A. Lopez
The use of force, Ian Johnstone
Verification and compliance, Harald Mueller
Codification and legal issues, Lori Fisler Damrosch

Looming Threats, New Challenges

Technology proliferation, globalization and the role of the UN, Brian Finlay and Rita Grossman-Vermaas
Dealing with extra-NPT actors and non-state actors, W. P. S. Sidhu
The international nuclear trade, Nicole Evans
Current crises, Iran and North Korea, Amitav Acharya
NPT regime change: Has the good become the enemy of the best? Ramesh Thakur

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