United Nations Reform and the New Collective Security

An examination of the concept of collective security in international law and international relations from normative and institutional perspectives.

Written by an international and multi-disciplinary group of scholars and practitioners, this collection of essays analyses the central findings and recommendations of the three key documents in the post-2004 UN reform process, and assesses their theoretical and practical implications for collective security in international law and international relations.In 2004, the Report of the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change emphasised the linkages between economic development, security and human rights, and the imperative in the twenty-first century of collective action and cooperation between States. In a world deeply divided by differences of power, wealth, culture and ideology, central questions today in international law and organisation are whether reaffirmation of the concept of collective security and a workable consensus on the means of its realisation are possible. In addressing these questions, this book considers the three key documents in the recent UN reform process: the High-Level Panel report, the Secretary-General's In Larger Freedom report and the 2005 World Summit Outcome document. The chapters examine the responsibilities, commitments, strategies and institutions necessary for collective security to function both in practice and as a normative ideal in international law and relations between state and non-state actors alike.