Political Science · Ch 4 — International Organisations
Evolution of the UN
Evolution of the UN
The First World War made the world realise that a single country could not manage global conflict alone. The idea was to create an international organisation that would give nations a platform to talk before they fought. That hope gave birth to the League of Nations.
The League did have some early successes, but it failed in its central task — it could not prevent the Second World War (1939–45). That war was far more destructive than the first, with many more dead and wounded. The failure of the League made it clear that a stronger, more effective organisation was needed.
The United Nations was founded as the successor to the League of Nations. It was established in 1945, immediately after the Second World War, when 51 states signed the United Nations Charter. The UN was designed to achieve what the League could not: prevent international conflict and promote cooperation among states.
The UN's core objective is to prevent international conflict and facilitate cooperation among states. It was created to stop conflicts from escalating into war, and if war did break out, to limit its extent.
The founders also understood that many conflicts arise from a lack of social and economic development. So the UN was also intended to bring countries together to improve development prospects across the world.
By 2011, the UN had 193 member states, which included almost every independent country in the world.
Key Organs and Membership
- UN General Assembly: Every member state has one vote.
- UN Security Council: Has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China. These five were chosen because they were the most powerful countries immediately after the Second World War and because they were the victors of that war.
- Secretary-General: The most visible public figure and the representative head of the UN. The current Secretary-General is António Guterres (the ninth Secretary-General). He took office on 1 January 2017. Before this role, he was the Prime Minister of Portugal (1995–2002) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005–2015).
Major Agencies and Their Focus Areas
The UN is not a single body — it consists of many different structures and agencies. War, peace, and differences between member states are discussed in the General Assembly and the Security Council. Social and economic issues are handled by a wide range of specialised agencies, including:
| Agency | Full Name | Focus Area |
|---|---|---|
| WHO | World Health Organisation | Global health |
The poster, created by the US Office of War Information during the Second World War, is a visual representation of the Declaration by United Nations of 1942. It does not show a map, a timeline, or a diagram of the UN's structure. Instead, it is a straightforward display of the flags of all the nations that were part of the Allied Forces at that time.
The flags are arranged together, likely in a unified or overlapping pattern, to emphasise that these countries were fighting on the same side. The poster's purpose was propaganda: to rally public support by showing the breadth of the alliance against the Axis powers. There are no arrows, panels, or labels explaining individual countries — the flags themselves are the message. …