Politics and Process at the United Nations : : The Global Dance / / Courtney B. Smith.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Lynne Rienner Press Complete eBook-Package 2013-2000
• VerfasserIn: Smith, Courtney B.,
• Place / Publishing House: Boulder : : Lynne Rienner Publishers, , [2022]; ©2006
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (334 p.)

How does the United Nations actually work? How does it reconcile the diverse interests of 191 sovereign member states—plus those of the multinational corporations that lobby it, the numerous NGOs with which it interacts, and the enormous international secretariat that services it—in the search for effective solutions to the myriad problems it confronts daily? Politics and Process at the United Nations answers these questions, providing a vivid picture of the dynamic interaction between actors and institutional structures. Drawing readers into the "global dance" that takes place at UN headquarters, Courtney Smith introduces the various members of the troupe and explains the procedures and processes that make up the movements of the dance. He also addresses an often neglected core issue: do UN decisions really matter? The result is an unusual book, valuable both for scholars and for students in UN and IO courses.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction to the Global Dance -- Part 1. Members of the Troupe: Actors at the United Nations -- 2. Member States and Delegates -- 3. Groups and Blocs -- 4. The Secretariat and the Secretary-General -- 5. Civil Society and the Private Sector -- Part 2. Movements of the Dance: Procedures and Processes -- 6. Formal Arenas: The Structures of Decisionmaking -- 7. Decision Rules and Parliamentary Procedures -- 8. Informal Networking: The Personal Side -- 9. Strategies of Influence: Positional, Personal, and Procedural -- Part 3. Implications of the Dance -- 10. The United Nations and State Compliance -- Acronyms -- References -- Index -- About the Book