ACUNS
THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL ON THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
Infor mational Memor andum
ACUNSat 25 Years This year, 2012, ACUNS turns 25 years of age.
Thinking about that fact, I spent time this evening reading through the report, Alistair Edgar, “Strengthening the Study of International Executive Director, Organizations”, that was prepared by ACUNS Gene Lyons as a summary of the Founding Conference of ACUNS held at Dartmouth College on 26-28 June, 1987. Serving alongside Gene as members of the provisional committee engaged in establishing ACUNS, were Elise Boulding, John Fobes, John Holmes, Benjamin Rivlin, James P. Sewell, Oran Young and Victor Urquidi. Listed as attending the opening conference were Lee Gordenker, Inis Claude, Juergen Dedring, Lawrence (Larry) Finklestein, Christopher Joyner, Margaret Karns, James Sutterlin, Maurice Strong, Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon, Jeffrey Martin, Jacques Fomerand, Donald Puchala, Hayward Alker, Jr., and Vinod Aggarwal, among others. We have, sadly, lost some of these founding fathers and mothers; but many also remain actively engaged as scholars and as members of ACUNS. Even as recently as the last few weeks, I have been in contact with Lee, Jacques, Larry, Elizabeth and Margaret. I have been fortunate enough to participate in our Annual Meetings marking the Council’s 15th and 20th anniversaries. On 13-15 June, in New York, I hope that we will have an opportunity to have as many of these founders as possible, gather again to help us reflect on what they, and ACUNS, have achieved in the quarter century since 1987. Of course, the AM12 must, and will, have its own themes and issues to bring together innovative and thoughtful young
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(and more “experienced”) scholars and practitioners in an exchange of forward-looking ideas on global governance policy issues and research. However, we also will be seeking a variety of ways in which to engage our founders, as plenary session speakers, on workshop panels, and also – thanks to the efforts of Brenda and out energetic ACUNS student volunteers – through the collection, development and presentation in electronic formats of our own organization’s historical materials. Between now and June, we also will be re-connecting with some of these founders through our podcast series, through invitations to prepare short pieces for our monthly E-Updates, and other means and measures. We offer an open invitation now, to all of those ‘life time’ members, to contact us with any other suggestions and proposals. Both Brenda and I are excited at the prospect of working on ways in which to help mark this special anniversary year. Of course, we both are busy additionally with developing, producing and promoting the range of programs, projects, publications and other initiatives that make up our normal cycle of activities, and in supporting emerging ventures such as the very successful Vienna Liaison office and its conference which has become a new annual event – this year attracting some 400 participants at the UN Office in Vienna to the second such conference. Materials from Vienna, including written reports and video recordings, can be found on the ACUNS web site. We expect to be kept very busy, and we look forward to helping make 2012 a notable year for the Council as an organization, and for all of its members – those who have been with us since 1987, and those who are joining us for their first year in our 25th. 1
Report To Acuns On The
UN GA High-level Dialogue on
Finance for Development 7 and 8 December 2011
This was a useful meeting in at least some ways despite not being either high-level or a dialogue. The SG and the President of the GA were in Durban; there were only three ministers present as far as I could determine; and neither the plenary nor the Round tables were dialogues. From developed countries Luxembourg and Spain sent ministers and from developing countries Guinea. (The Luxembourg minister of development cooperation was undoubtedly present as part of her country’s campaign to be elected to the SC in October next year. It was somewhat surprising the Australia did not do likewise; however, in the absence of the GA President the Australian Ambassador chaired the whole plenary meeting on 7 December.) This isn’t particularly surprising because the conference was described as a dialogue, so no concrete outcome was planned, and without negotiations about specific subjects of concern the incentive to attend was low.
micro-tax on currency transactions; and enhanced international tax cooperation to reduce tax evasion through a ‘supranational means’; and concerted work to reduce trade protection and strengthen policies for achieving the MDGs. Those themes were taken up by many other speakers, in different ways which indicated the stances of their governments.
Nevertheless I found it interesting in a number of ways. The documentation prepared by the FfD Office and circulated before the meetings was valuable as an analysis of the issues, and the speeches by the Deputy Secretary-General Ms Asha-Rose Migiro and by Mr Lazarous Kapambwe, the President of ECOSOC, were comprehensive and strategically sensible.
Three multi-stakeholder round tables were held simultaneously on the second morning, so I could only hear (and participate) in one, the first, on ‘reform of the international monetary and financial system and its implications for development’. The quality of the addresses by each of the three other panellists was excellent. For example José Antonio Ocampo, Professor at Columbia and former USG, discussed what the UN can do about the consequences of the global financial crisis. He noted global reforms already made – the upgrading of the Financial Stability Board and the agreement on Basel 3, and regional ones such as the Chang Mai initiative and Latin American reserve fund, and swaps amongst central banks; but said that three other areas are missing: recognition of the importance of managing cross-border flows; and of sovereign debt issues; and the inadequacies of reserve currency systems. He said that SDRs should be used increasingly because: returns on issuing the currency is shared by all countries and can be managed in a counter-cyclical way; the IMF could become a fully managerial system; yet SDRs are under-utilised at present; and volatility between currencies is a major problem. The answer is to use a system which has guidelines. Several delegates
I will not attempt a comprehensive summary of the plenary speeches because that will be provided by the GA President in due course. There was considerable diversity of content and style, but many governments commented on all the major themes. To illustrate the diversity it is worth mentioning two memorable speeches, one by the Spanish Vice-Minister for International Cooperation which was notable for her passion and the positiveness of her engagement; and that by a diplomat from the US Mission which was striking in its dismissiveness of the process and of the ideas behind it. The Spanish minister (who was giving her last major speech after eight years in the position and the recent electoral defeat of her government) described her country’s major increases in aid including debt forgiveness; supported the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT) including a
New Norms, New Actors ,
a New United Nations?
The speaker for the US argued that ODA is now only 13 per cent of financial flows to developing countries (he did not explain how that was calculated, nor did he disaggregate it in any way) and said that this is why the focus should shift from ODA to private investment. Donor-recipient relations are less relevant now he asserted, so the FfD process should be re-examined to see if it is still relevant. He gave no indication of knowledge of most of the issues on the agenda such as trade protection or global economic and financial governance, nor any indication of sympathy for the medium and smaller countries which have little access to FDI.
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responded to the panel and there were also useful contributions from business and civil society representatives. One of the most important of the latter was from the Third World Network for the which the representative argued for the necessity of the adoption of more expansionary macroeconomic policies; reduction of wastefully large international currency reserves; issuing of more SDRs; and the importance of capital controls – as decided by the Cannes meeting of the G20. The final afternoon was a plenary interactive dialogue on FfD and the MDGs. There were more genuinely responsive comments in this session to remarks which had been made earlier in the conference. Again civil society made some innovative comments, to some of which delegates either responded publicly or about which there was discussion afterwards.
Attending the Dialogue also allowed the Dept of Economic and Social Affairs to invite me to attend (at no cost to them) and lead off a workshop on innovative sources of finance which they held on Friday 2 December in preparation for drafting of a section of the 2012 World Economic and Social Survey. My introductory remarks to that are also attached. I am most grateful to have had the endorsement of ACUNS to attend the Dialogue. John Langmore, ACUNS Member
As is common in such meetings I found the benefit in not only the public presentations by experts and country reps but also in the opportunity to strengthen networks. The preparatory forum organised by and for civil society was outstanding and so were the side events during the conference. The German FES was a particularly valuable contributor to these. A highly significant feature was that two activists from the Occupy Wall Street movement had been invited to the civil society forum and spoke with both eloquence and restraint about features of contemporary economic systems which need to be transformed. It was also fascinating too to hear from the global nurses union about their lobbying on behalf of a FTT. They told of one of their members who had been attempting to persuade a Congressman about the benefits of the tax in providing the revenue for maintaining and improving services. The Congressman had said that the nurse should lower her expectations to which she replied ‘Do you want me to say that to you while I’m prepping you for an operation?’
ACUNS Secretariat Staff
ACUNS Board Members 2011-2012
Alistair Edgar, Executive Director
Chair
Brenda Burns, Co-ordinator
Chair Elect: Abiodun Williams, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, USIP
Sam Daws, University of Oxford
Rama Mani, University of Oxford
Lise Morjé Howard, Georgetown University
Ramesh Thakur, University of Waterloo
ACUNS Wilfrid Laurier University 75 University Avenue, West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5 T. (519) 884-0710, ext. 2766 F. (519) 884-5097 E. bburns@wlu.ca
Christer Jönsson, Lund University
Members
Aldo Caliari, Center of Concern
Roger Coate, Georgia College and State University
www.acuns.org
Lorraine Elliott, Australian National University Melissa Labonte, Fordham University
Jan Wouters, University of Leuven
ACUNSat 25Years 3
2012 Water, Environment and Health: Addressing Knowledge, Capacity and Governance Challenges July 6 – 14, 2012
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Wilfrid Laurier University
The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) and the American Society of International Law (ASIL), in cooperation with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), are pleased to announce the twenty-second ACUNS-ASIL Summer Workshop on International Organization Studies (SWIOS 22). The SWIOS is an intensive research seminar, held normally over a period of 8-10 days. It is designed for junior professors, post-doctoral and advanced doctoral level students in international relations, international law, and other scholarly disciples relevant to the particular theme in each year. Young lawyers, practitioners from civil society groups, policy staff from international organizations and national governments or agencies, and others at similar early stages of their professional careers, working in fields related to the workshop subject matter, also are encouraged to apply. The workshop seeks to support its participants in developing a specialized knowledge base while gaining specific new methodological tools for analysis and assessment through the cross-fertilization of several disciplines and the sharing of ideas and experiences between scholars and practitioners. The workshop includes thematic explorations, case-specific specializations, and a supportive interactive learning environment. This year, SWIOS 22 is hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
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Waterloo, Ontario Canada
Program Theme and Policy Relevance For 2012, the ACUNS-ASIL Summer Workshop on International Organization Studies (SWIOS) engages with the subject of “Water, Environment and Health: Addressing Knowledge, Capacity and Governance Challenges”. Topics that are anticipated as being addressed in the Workshop lectures, presentations and in participants’ research projects, include but are not limited to: international water law; international organizations and governance; the content and role of sustainability science; the effective articulation and communication of scientific research on water, environment and health to relevant national and international policy communities, non-scientific scholars and the media; and the global, national and local challenges of capacity building, knowledge enhancement and research-to-policy dialogue around issues of water and gender, water and local cooperation/conflict, water scarcity and livelihoods, water and economic health, and the nexus of water, energy and food. Together, these represent some of the most critical contemporary challenges for the governance of complex socio-ecological problems. The 2012 SWIOS will take place only a short time following the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) meetings and associated civil society deliberations. The UNCSD’s central themes – a green economy in the context of sustainable development (SD) and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for SD – also include the subtopics of water, achieving SD through knowledge creation and ‘sustainable development learning’. In addition to their own intrinsic value, therefore, the themes and topics of SWIOS 22 will be of immediate relevance to critical, contemporary global policy developments and indeed some may be reflections upon the outcome(s) of Rio +20. It is an intention of the 2012 Workshop, that summaries of its discussions and/or recommendations should be made available as quickly as possible thereafter, through ACUNS’ global network of scholars and practitioners. Workshop participants also will work with each other and with the SWIOS director(s) to produce this agreed Summary Document as part of the SWIOS 2012 activities.
Application Procedure Scholars in International relations and international law, and from other fields relevant to the workshop e.g. development, international public policy; and practitioners from NGOs and government institutions in all countries are encouraged to apply. On-line applications (http://www.acuns.org/programsan/acunsasils) must be completed by Monday, 26 March, 2012 and must include all of the following: • A brief (~1,000 words) statement of research interests apropos of the workshop themes; • A curriculum vitae ; and • Two letters of reference submitted on-line or sent directly to ACUNS Applicants will be notified of the Selection Committee’s final decision by Monday, 16 April, 2012. Due to the high number of applications, the Committee is not able to provide individual explanations of its selection decisions.
Learning Objectives Participants in the course will gain scholarly and practice-based knowledge and applied skills in the analysis of a number of issue areas related to the workshop theme. Among the themes and skill-sets the workshop will address are: • The complex and varying nature of the interrelationships between water, environment and health, and between knowledge, capacity and governance around these topics;
Participant Selection • Up to 20 participants will be selected by a review committee for the Workshop. • Normally, approximately half of the participants come from within the United Nations.
• The problem(s) of articulating scientific knowledge of these issues meaningfully to different forms of audience including nonscientific policy leaders, and media;
• Those selected will be expected to submit a ten-page draft of a research or policy paper to his or her director in advance of the workshop (terms of references will be provided).
• Specific experiences of research, and of micro-level policy design and implementation;
• Participants will submit to the ACUNS Secretariat following the workshop an assessment and planning document that applies the analytical portion of the workshop to a particular strategy of intervention for an international organization, donor state, or NGO.
• The particular or unique effects of water, environment and health concerns on women and girls; • How policy roadblocks at the national, and international or global, levels, affect the prospects for formulating and achieving meaningful policy development, and how the UN has or has not been able to overcome these roadblocks;
• The working language of the workshop is English.
• Identifying and reflecting upon, the “lessons learned” from the sharing of innovative ideas and practices between and among the next generation of scholars and practitioners, and how these might be best used to achieve positive policy outcomes
• The workshop is designed to promote collegial exchange and networking in an intense program. Participants are expected to take part fully in all aspects of the program. For this reason, participants are not encouraged to be accompanied by spouses, children or other dependents. Neither ACUNS, the host institution or any other associated organization will be able to offer any services or support for anyone accompanying a workshop participant.
Through presentations by scholars and practitioners, case studies, guided research, and innovative pedagogies geared to post-graduate professionals, this workshop will allow participants to improve their own skills and capacities for engaging in the complex but critical areas of local, national and/or international engagement in water, environment and health governance.
• The selected participants will receive lowest-cost economy class return air travel between their location and the workshop site, accommodations and some meals for the duration of the workshop.
ACUNSat 25Years 5
Annual meeting 13-15 June, 2012
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New Norms, New Actors, a New United Nations?
visit us online for regular updates at www.acuns.org
In 1987 the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) was established in order to revive UN studies. Research and teaching were in the doldrums. Neither the United Nations in particular, nor multilateralism in general, were central to the concerns of faculty, students, or policy-makers. Especially in the United States, UN-bashing was popular while serious scholarly studies of the organization and the policies, processes and institutions surrounding it were few and limited in scope. Since that time, the agenda of world politics and the world organization – and the associated range of approaches, assumptions, issues and values included in the study of the UN system and contemporary multilateralism – have expanded dramatically. Set within this context, the theme of the 25th anniversary ACUNS Annual Meeting will be continuity and change - in the UN system, in related multilateral institutions, actors and forms of agency engaged in attempting to manage the overloaded agenda of contemporary multilateralism(s), and in scholarly and policy-oriented understandings of the field.
practice today, given their critical role in supporting, sustaining and promoting excellence and innovation in UN studies and in UN practice a quarter of a century ago? As the Academic Council on the United Nations System celebrates its 25th anniversary, our members and interested colleagues – scholars and practitioners of all kinds with an interest in the United Nations, multilateral institutions and global governance - will have a wide and challenging agenda to consider at the 2012 Annual Meeting.
To what extent is the United Nations today equipped to help address and solve current as well as emerging future global challenges? What are the durable features and ‘truths’ of the UN system, versus the proposed adaptations and anachronisms that have failed? Would, and should, the Charter’s framers be pleased or disappointed by subsequent adaptations? What about ACUNS’ founding mothers and fathers – to what extent would (do) they recognize and appreciate the field of scholarship and
EVENT LOCATION: The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY To register and to submit proposals for presentation:
Visit www.acuns.org
Nominate or be nominated.
ACUNS Board Nominations
AS OF JUNE 2012 multiple positions will be open on the ACUNS Board of Directors. ACUNS members are invited to nominate qualified individuals, including themselves, for these positions. Please send nominations with curriculum vitae, bio (300-500 words), and a short supporting statement outlining what the nominee will bring to ACUNS.
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TO NOMINATE All nominations should be sent to bburns@wlu.ca by March 1, 2012.
New Norms, New Actors ,
a New United Nations?
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Wilfrid laurier university • host institution of acuns secretariat • waterloo, ontario, canada
CALL FOR PAPERS: WORKSHOP PANELS The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) now is accepting workshop paper and panel proposals for presentation at its twenty-fifth anniversary Annual Meeting, to be held 13-15 June 2012 at The Graduate Center, City University of New York (GC-CUNY). Proposals on the Annual Meeting theme – “New Norms, New Actors, a New United Nations? Continuity and Change, ACUNS at 25” – as well as on the topics highlighted in the four Plenary sessions and the introductory note, in addition to other topics relating to the UN system and to the broader mandate of the Council, will be considered.
2012 Annual Meeting Travel Grants
The final deadline for uploading your proposals at www.acuns.org is Friday, 20 April 2012.
Graduate Student Grant - US $500
Please note that proposals will be accepted and evaluated, and panel spaces will be allotted, on a first-come rolling basis subsequent to the issuance of this Call. Once all spaces are filled, a waiting list will be established for any subsequent proposals. Current ACUNS members in good standing (including new or newly-renewed members) will be given priority consideration for their proposals, but non-members also are welcome to submit proposals. In order to present at the Meeting, Council membership will be required; this includes all persons participating in a full panel team proposal. To submit an individual proposal or a full panel proposal you will be required to upload full contact information, a paper title(s), a max. 200 word abstract(s), and a max 250 word bio(s). If you have any questions regarding the submission process, please contact Brenda Burns at bburns@wlu.ca. The final deadline for uploading proposals is Friday, 20 April 2012.
The ACUNS Secretariat is pleased to announce the opening of the application process for two new travel grants associated with the 2012 Annual Meeting. One grant in each category is available. Applicants should indicate for which grant they are applying - we will accept only one application per person. These grants will be provided as reimbursements to the two winners following the Annual Meeting.
The 2012 Annual Meeting Graduate Student Grant is directed towards a Ph.D., J.S.D. or LL.M. level student who has been accepted to give a paper at the 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting in New York City. Applicants for this grant need not be current ACUNS members. The winner also will receive a one-year membership of the Council, and waiver of AM 2012 registration fee.
Open Category Grant - US $750 The 2012 Annual Meeting Open Category Grant is available to any ACUNS Member giving a paper at the 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting in New York City. The winner also will receive a waiver of AM 2012 registration fee.
Application Process Applicants for either grant should send to the ACUNS Secretariat the following materials separately from material required by the Call for Papers: 1. A provisional budget estimate for attending the Annual Meeting 2. A brief (300 words max.) statement explaining how their participation in the Annual Meeting will advance their studies, research, or professional development To submit an application the above materials should be sent to Brenda Burns at bburns@wlu.ca by Friday, 20 April 2012. Winners will be notified directly by e-mail by Monday, 7 May, 2012. A general announcement of the winners of the two awards will posted to the ACUNS website by 11 May, 2012.
ACUNSat 25Years 7
Value our work? Interested in helping? Help to secure ACUNS’ future. Support the Friends of ACUNS endowment. Your gift will help to ensure the financial future of ACUNS and the continuation of its programs. Contributions are tax-deductible.
why not consider donating your book royalties to the Friends of ACUNS?
Please send your donation to: FRIENDS OF ACUNS, c/o Jean Krasno, Yale University 31 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven, CT 06511 Friends of ACUNS is incorporated under New York State and federal law as a not-for-profit public charity with 501(c) (3) status.
Benefits for members: • subscription and electronic access to the quarterly journal, Global Governance and ACUNS’ quarterly newsletter
New Individual Members
Buhm-Suk Baek Gerhard Budin Vanessa Chocano Bedoya Stephanie Delgado Martin Grzegorz Donocik Robert Fritz Miroslav Jurásek Christa Kagelmacher Arnold Kammel Nadejda Komendantova Nora Kata Lazar Manuela Leon Tiewa Liu Rama Mani
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Ines Marinkovic Paul Mikov Hamid Reza Mirzaei Suzilah Mohd Sidek Yvona Novotna Lukas Putz Kaleem Rahman Niamh Reilly Balázs Rossu Sonja Schilling Priya Ranjan P Singh Anikó Szalai Simon Tauer Jan Masaryk Centre of International Studies, University of Economics, Prague
• access to official UN system meetings and library collections thanks to our Category 1 consultative status with ECOSOC
• access to our global network through our liaison offices in Delhi, Geneva, New York, and Vienna
• opportunities to participate in ACUNS events that address pressing global issues by putting researchers in conversation with practitioners PLUS Institutional Members can designate up to four representatives who will each receive the same benefits plus the opportunity to profile new programs or projects on the ACUNS website.
New Delhi Inaugural Meeting of Oceans Beyond PiracyIndia Flags Issues of Shared Concern to South Asia Event Report
inaugural to highlight India’s multi-dimensional approach in moving from a largely reactive to a proactive role within the last two years.
The issues that got flagged for new initiatives included: • Shifting counter-piracy efforts from naval operations to law enforcement with more active Coast Guards.
There is an urgent need to reassess the risk criteria for piracy in the Indian Ocean and to ensure the safety of seafarers with streamlined operational responses. These were the primary conclusions of the Oceans Beyond Piracy – India (OBP-I) inaugural in New Delhi on 18 November 2011. Hosted by OBP-I Chairman, Vice-Admiral (retd) Pradeep Kaushiva, the two day event was attended by maritime experts, representatives from the shipping industry, academia, security establishment and the media. The Naval Adviser of Pakistan and the Defence Attaches of Brazil and Italy were among the guests along with members of diplomatic community from Sri Lanka and Maldives. The inaugural was held on premises at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, a leading Asian think tank on matters of national and international security. Vice Admiral (retd) Arun Kumar Singh, Former Commander in Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, delivered the keynote address on “Meeting the Challenge of Maritime Piracy in 21st Century.” Chief of the Bangladesh Maritime Cell in the Ministry of External Affairs, Rear Admiral Khurshed Alam, the just retired Director-General of Sri Lanka Coast Guard Rear Admiral Daya Dharmapriya and the Deputy High Commissioner of the Maldives, Khadeeja Ibrahim were also the headline speakers. Issue specific discussions were led by Dr. PK Ghosh from the Observer Research Foundation, Dr. Vijay Sakhuja of the Indian Council of World Affairs and Commodore Seshadri Vasan of Chennai Center for Asia Studies. “India’s Response to Piracy 2010-2011: A Reference Paper” was circulated at the
• Standardizing and updating national anti-piracy laws. • Promoting investment to prevent “at risk” populations from turning to piracy. • Gaining better understanding of the factors that determine high risk insurance Areas. • Exploring possibilities for more direct involvement of the United Nations. • Ensuring protection of seafarer’s through greater flag state accountability. • Streamlining decision making processes for decisive action against pirated vessels. OBP-India is envisioned to contribute to the global counter-piracy efforts by encouraging action driven projects to reduce the incidence or severity of piracy activity in the Indian Ocean. Towards that end, OBP-India will promote forward thinking strategies to generate an educated public response and multi-stakeholder support from leaders in maritime security and maritime industry. The OBP-I web-site (www.india.oceansbeyondpiracy.org) will carry the text of the statements and presentation of the inaugural in the next update, and publish unfolding plans of action by OBP-India as a first of its kind initiative facilitated by One Earth Future Foundation.
Swadesh Rana, Oceans Beyond Piracy-India, One Earth Future
Friends of ACUNS Biannual Book Award
The Friends of ACUNS
Book Award
valued at US $1,000 is intended to encourage and help to support outstanding research and writing on the United Nations. The Award will go to the author(s) or editor(s) of the best book that focuses on some aspect of the United Nations and/or the United Nations System. The award is limited to books only: no other type of publication will be considered.
The book must have been published in the last 3 years to be eligible (since Jan. 2009) and should be received by the review committee on or before March 1, 2012. Please send 3 copies of the book to: Jean Krasno, Treasurer, Friends of ACUNS, International Security Studies, Yale University, 31 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT 06511 Nominations can be made by the author, editor or by someone else: we encourage ACUNS members and others to nominate outstanding work. The winner will be announced at the ACUNS 2012 Annual Meeting in New York on June 13-15, 2012.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Friends of ACUNS Book Award please contact Jean Krasno at jean.krasno@yale.edu.
ACUNSat 25Years 9
A cademic C ouncil on the U nited N ations S ystem
The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics, and Organizations
The United Nations Democracy Agenda: A Conceptual History
Ian Johnstone
Published by: Manchester University Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0719079818
Published by: Oxford University Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-19-539493-1 Arguing about matters of public policy is ubiquitous in democracies. The ability to resolve conflicts through peaceful contestation is a measure of any well-ordered society. Arguing is almost as ubiquitous in international affairs, yet it is not viewed as an important element of world order. In The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics and Organizations, Ian Johnstone challenges the assumption that arguing is mere lip service with no real impact on the behavior of states or the structure of the international system. Johnstone focuses on legal argumentation and asks why, if the rhetoric of law is inconsequential, governments and other international actors bother engaging in it. Johnstone joins the efforts of international relations scholars and democracy theorists who consider why argumentation occurs beyond nation states. He focuses on deliberation in and around international organizations, drawing on various strands of legal, political and international relations theory to identify common features of legal argumentation and deliberative politics. Johnstone's central claim is that international organizations are places where "interpretive communities" coalesce, and the quality of the deliberations these communities provoke is a measure of the legitimacy of the organization.
The Role of the UN Security Council in the Strengthening of the Withdrawal Clause of the NPT Zoryana Vovchok
Published by: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2011 ISBN: 978-3-8443-9209-8 This book, based on a PhD dissertation, covers the negotiation history of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the role of the UN Security Council in addressing withdrawal from the NPT. It assesses the powers of the UN Security Council under the UN Charter to determine whether this powerful organ of the UN possesses the mandate to address announcements of withdrawal by a State from the NPT and examines the options available to the UN Security Council. The book also provides a unique and comprehensive assessment of the reactions of the NPT States to North Korea's announcements of withdrawal from the NPT in 1993 and 2003. The book analyses the statements, working papers and the final documents of the NPT preparatory committees and review conferences at which this issue has been discussed, covering the period from 1993 to 2010. This is the only analysis thus far. The book includes an overview of the reactions of the UN Security Council to North Korea's actions and offers practical suggestions as to how the UN Security Council could address such matters. The book is essential reading for nuclear policy makers, diplomats, UN staff and students of diplomacy, international law and nuclear non-proliferation.
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Kirsten Haack
The United Nations Democracy Agenda is a critical, conceptualhistorical analysis of democracy at the United Nations, detailed in four ‘visions’ of democracy: civilization, elections, governance and developmental democracy. "I know it when I see it" were the famous words of US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart on defining obscenity. It is with the same conviction and (un)certainty with which liberal peacebuilders and democracy promoters have used democracy to achieve both the immediate goals of peacekeeping and the broader, global mission of the United Nations. Today democracy may have gained an international dimension, yet its success as an organizational practice depends on how democracy has been defined. Drawing on political theory and democratization scholarship, The United Nations Democracy Agenda questions the meaning of this well-‘known’ idea. The book analyses the way in which the UN, through its Secretary-General, relevant agencies and organizational practices, have thought about, conceptualized and used democracy. The United Nations Democracy Agenda shows that while the idea of democracy’s ‘civilizing’ nature has played a prominent part in its use by the UN, an early focus on sovereignty and self-determination delayed the emergence of the democracy agenda until the 1990s. Today, a comprehensive democracy agenda incorporates not only elections but a broad range of liberal democratic institutions. Despite this, the democracy agenda is at an impasse, both practically and philosophically. The United Nations Democracy Agenda questions whether an extension of the UN democracy agenda to include ‘developmental democracy’ is feasible.
Special edition of the journal International Peacekeeping: Partnerships – a New Horizon for Peacekeeping? Francesco Mancini and Adam C. Smith (Eds.)
Published by: Routledge - Taylor and Francis Group, 2011 ISSN: 1353-3312 The special issue focuses on the functional aspects of partnership (protecting civilians, rapid response, generating adequate troops and civilians, and policing, etc.). It warns against creating complex partnership structures and emphasizes the need to better understand the dynamics–such as divergences in interests, will, and organizational culture– which are inherent to partnerships.
Recent
Member
Publications
Nonproliferation Norms: Why States Choose Nuclear Restraint
Dag Hammarskjöld Remembered: A Collection of Personal Memories
Maria Rost Rublee
Mary-Lynn Hanley and Henning Melber (Eds.)
Published by: The University of Georgia Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-8203-3003-7
Published by: Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, 2011 ISBN: 978-91-85214-64-8
Too often, our focus on the relative handful of countries with nuclear weapons keeps us from asking an important question: Why do so many more states not have such weapons? More important, what can we learn from these examples of nuclear restraint? Maria Rost Rublee argues that in addition to understanding a state's security environment, we must appreciate the social forces that influence how states conceptualize the value of nuclear weapons. Much of what Rublee says also applies to other weapons of mass destruction, as well as national security decision making in general.
It is now fifty years since Dag Hammarskjöld left the world and the United ¬Nations behind. Yet, with every passing year since his death, his stature grows and his worth along with his contribution becomes more apparent and meaningful.
The nuclear nonproliferation movement has created an international social environment that exerts a variety of normative pressures on how state elites and policymakers think about nuclear weapons. Within a social psychology framework, Rublee examines decision making about nuclear weapons in five case studies: Japan, Egypt, Libya, Sweden, and Germany. In each case, Rublee considers the extent to which nuclear forbearance resulted from persuasion (genuine transformation of preferences), social conformity (the desire to maximize social benefits and/or minimize social costs, without a change in underlying preferences), or identification (the desire or habit of following the actions of an important other). The book offers bold policy prescriptions based on a sharpened knowledge of the many ways we transmit and process nonproliferation norms. The social mechanisms that encourage nonproliferation--and the regime that created them--must be preserved and strengthened, Rublee argues, for without them states that have exercised nuclear restraint may rethink their choices.
L’OMS en Péril Yves Beigbeder
Published By: Editions de Santé, 2011 ISBN: 9782864112549 This book, in French, relates the financial crisis suffered by the World Health Organization in 2011, following the criticisms addressed to its management of the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009-2010. Its role as the directing and co-ordinating authority in international public health is challenged. WHO must compound with, in its domain, with powerful rivals such as the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as with the World Trade Organization concerning patents protection. After recalling WHO’s origins and mandate, the book reviews the main issues faced by the Organization: public-private partnerships and conflicts of interest, the management of the H1N1 flu pandemic, the current financial crisis and reforms, the pharmaceutical industry and essential medicines, intellectual property and the right to health, the industry and international regulation. WHO has many assets as the only public health institution representing the global community of nations. Its has a broad mandate in international regulation, surveillance and fight against illnesses, it has access to all scientific expertise in its domain. It now has to overcome its present crisis, redefine its vision and restore its credibility.
When Hammarskjöld was at its helm the United Nations was still a relatively young organization, finding its way in a post-war world that had entered a new phase, the cold war, for which there was no roadmap. He was a surprise choice as SecretaryGeneral, a so-called “safe” choice as there was little expectation that this former Swedish civil servant would be more than a competent caretaker. Few imagined that Dag Hammarskjöld would embrace his destiny with such passion and independence and even fewer could have foreseen that he would give his life in service to his passion. But as Hammarskjöld himself stated: “Destiny is something not to be desired and not to be avoided – a mystery not contrary to reason, for it implies that the world, and the course of human history, have meaning.” That statement sums up his world view. This is a volume of memoirs written by people who knew Hammarskjöld. We hope that these memories succeed in imparting to those who never knew or worked with Dag Hammarskjöld the intrinsic flavour of this unusual, highly intelligent, highly complex individual who believed deeply in the ability of people, especially their ability to affect the world in which they live. He once reflected: “Everything will be all right – you know when? When people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.” Today that advice rings as true as ever.
Development Dialogue No. 57: The United Nations and Regional Challenges in Africa – 50 Years after Dag Hammarskjöld Henning Melber and Maxi Schoeman (Eds.)
Published by: Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, 2011 ISBN: 978-91-85214-63-1 This volume contains a selection of the contributions to an international conference held on 13-15 July 2011 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The conference was devoted to the legacy of Dag Hammarskjöld and the continued relevance of the principles he advocated. His term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations occurred when “the wind of change” was blowing across the African continent, and his approach to global justice, peace and security is widely viewed as exemplary. The scholars, officials and political office-bearers that have contributed to this volume examine in historical perspective the values and norms Dag Hammarskjöld lived – and died – for. They go on to relate them to the current regional, continental and global policy challenges faced by both the United Nations and regional African organisations in terms of conflict mediation, the rule of law and international collective responsibility.
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Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961): Fur eine Friedliche Welt – Ideen und impulse des zweiten UN-Generalsekretars
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Manuel Frölich, Helmut Klumpjan, Henning Melber
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Published by: Brandes & Apsel, 2011 ISBN: 978-3-86099-710-9
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After a joint introductory essay by the three authors this volume presents a focus on three distinct features of Dag Hammarskjöld's concepts and practices as second SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations. They highlight his understanding of the international civil service, his political philosophy of the organisation and his blend as a Swedish cosmopolitan socialised in the emergence of the welfare state and its participatory democracy. All chapters make extensive use of the speeches, in which Hammarskjöld presented and explained his concepts.
Multilaterale Bildungsfinanzierung durch das UNO-System Klaus Hüfner
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Published by: Frank & Timme, 2011 ISBN: 978-3-86596-306-2 This study on multilateral educational financing of the UN system covers chapterwise education activities of the two UN specialized agencies UNESCO and World Bank (IBRD plus IDA) and the UN special organs UNDP, UNICEF and WFP. Each chapter is organized according to the UN Development Decades between 1960 and1990 and the UN Millennium Declaration of 2000. The book offers a comparative analysis of educational policies of different UN institutions combined with a wealth of statistics for the period 1971-2008 on multilateral educational financing which indicate different policy directions.
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