United Nations and International Relations

United Nations and International Relations

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organisation founded on 24 October 1945 under the UN Charter, signed in San Francisco. International Relations (IR) is the study of interactions among states and non-state actors across diplomacy, conflict, law, and global governance. The UN has six principal organs: General Assembly (GA), Security Council (SC), Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council (suspended 1994), International Court of Justice (ICJ), and Secretariat. The SC has 15 members: 5 permanent (P5: China, France, Russia, UK, USA) with veto power, and 10 non-permanent members elected for 2-year terms. Substantive resolutions need 9 affirmative votes including all P5 (Article 27). Article 38(1) of the ICJ Statute lists four sources of international law: treaties, custom, general principles, and judicial/scholarly writings as subsidiary means. LAT frequently tests SC veto, ICJ jurisdiction, and UN organs’ powers.

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Standard content for students with a few days to months.

Six Principal Organs and Their Functions

The UN Charter (Chapter III, Articles 7–22) creates six principal organs. The General Assembly is a deliberative body where all 193 member states have one vote each; it adopts resolutions on peace, security, budget (via the Fifth Committee), and elects non-permanent SC members, the ICJ judges, and the Secretary-General on SC recommendation. The Security Council bears primary responsibility for international peace and security (Article 24); only it can mandate binding enforcement under Chapter VII — sanctions, arms embargoes, or collective military action.

The Veto and Voting Rule

Substantive matters require 9 affirmative votes including the concurring votes of all five permanent members. Abstention by a P5 is not a veto, but absence is. The veto has been used over 290 times, predominantly by the USSR/Russia and the USA. Procedural matters (e.g., agenda items) need 9 affirmative votes with no veto.

ICJ and Sources of International Law

The International Court of Justice settles legal disputes between states (contentious cases) and gives advisory opinions to UN organs. Only states may be parties; jurisdiction rests on consent — through compromise, treaty clause, or forum prorogatum. Article 38(1) codifies sources: (a) international conventions, (b) international custom (state practice + opinio juris), (c) general principles of civilised nations, (d) judicial decisions and teachings as subsidiary means.

IR Theories

Realism treats states as unitary rational actors pursuing power in an anarchic system; Liberalism emphasises institutions, trade, and cooperation (Keohane, Ikenberry); Constructivism focuses on shared norms and identity shaping state behaviour (Wendt).

Exam Pattern for LAT

LAT Current Affairs (3% weightage) typically asks 1–2 MCQs on UN organs, veto counts, or ICJ jurisdiction. A common trap: confusing GA resolutions (recommendatory) with SC resolutions under Chapter VII (binding).

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Edge Cases and Modern Developments

The Trusteeship Council suspended operations in 1994 after Palau’s independence, leaving it formally inactive. Peacekeeping operations (UNPKO) under Chapter VI½ are consent-based, distinguishing them from enforcement under Chapter VII; classic examples are UNEF-I (Suez 1956) and MONUSCO (DRC). The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP), endorsed at the 2005 World Summit, attempts to reconcile sovereignty with humanitarian intervention but has not overridden SC deadlock (e.g., Syria 2011–).

Connections to Adjacent Topics

Link UN studies to the Bretton Woods twins (IMF, World Bank) created 1944, the WTO (1995 Marrakesh Agreement), and the Geneva Conventions 1949 + Additional Protocols that codify international humanitarian law. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) governs treaty interpretation, with Articles 31–32 forming the standard LAT reference for treaty construction. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is declaratory, not binding — binding force arises through the ICCPR and ICESCR (1966).

Common Mistakes

(1) Saying the GA can bind states — it recommends. (2) Assuming ICJ judgments are automatically enforceable — they bind only parties, with SC enforcement under Article 94. (3) Confusing the League of Nations (1920–1946) with the UN.

Practice Prompts

Q1. A SC resolution on peace and security is opposed by one P5 but supported by all others. What is the outcome? (Answer: vetoed; fails Article 27(3).)

Q2. State X accepts ICJ jurisdiction only via compromissory clauses in treaties. Can X be sued for an unrelated customary-law claim? (Answer: No — jurisdiction requires consent; customary law is a substantive source, not a jurisdictional basis.)

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