Effective UN intervention in international crisis : case studies of secretary-general and security council activities

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The United Nations (UN) has been involved in international crises around the world, and this number increased dramatically since the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, UN involvement has not always brought about successful outcomes. Examining UN intervention in international crisis helps understand the role of the UN. Thus, this study attempts to answer what factors contribute to effective UN intervention in international crisis? In particular, how does the active role by either the Security Council or the Secretary-General influence the role of the UN?In order to answer this question, this research focuses on an issue directly linked to UN’s main purpose of maintaining peace and security: the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which includes chemical and biological weapons as well as nuclear weapons. More specifically, this study draws on the cases of nuclear crises in North Korea, Iraq, Kashmir, and India and Pakistan for empirical evidence.The Security Council and the Secretary-General are unique actors in international politics. When examining the activities of the Security Council, we see that the choice of strategy is a key factor that contributes to the UN’s effectiveness. Additional insights on the role of the Secretary-General from these cases may be drawn for the general study of UN’s effectiveness. First, although it is difficult for the Secretary-General to act alone, with the support of the Security Council, he may become a key player in crisis resolution. Second, the Secretary-General may promote more peaceful means of resolution because he uses diplomacy instead of military interventions. Lastly, the Secretary-General has the ability to position himself strategically as an individual.This study shows that cooperation between the Security Council and Secretary-General, which helps bring about the strengths that each organ has, is a key for a strengthened role by the UN in effective crisis intervention. It is hard to deny that members of the Security Council, especially the permanent members, are the main actors in international politics. However, the Secretary-General may also act as a key player in that he carries weight as the most respected individual actor in international politics. Therefore, he may act as an essential factor in crisis stabilization.