ONLY USE BOOK I LINKED
Assignment Name: Assessing the Effectiveness of the United Nations (over BBQ chicken and macaroni salad)
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to assess whether you understand what functions the United Nations performs, the authorities it possesses and its limits in seeking to solve world problems. By completing this assignment, you will acquire a better appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations as a tool for global governance and be able to better differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate criticisms of this institution.
Skills: Students will develop the following skills
Analyze the powers and authorities of the UN and their limits
Critically evaluate criticisms leveled at the United Nations
Explain why the UN often fails to realize the goals the organization and its member states seek to achieve
Knowledge:
Students will be able to identify some of the central functions of the United Nations as an international organization
Students will be able to assess criticisms of the UN in light of their knowledge about the limits of the UN’s power and authority
Task:
Imagine the following hypothetical scenario: you are visiting your cousin’s house for a BBQ on July 4th. After several servings of BBQ chicken and macaroni salad, your cousin turns to you and says: “So I hear you’re taking a class on International Organizations in college. Maybe you can answer a question for me: what good is the United Nations if it can’t prevent a country like Russia from invading a country like Ukraine? The UN strikes me as nothing more than a useless, bloated bureaucracy that is all talk and no action. I think the US should just pull out of the UN since it is obviously useless for solving global problems.” How would you respond to your cousin?
Write a two-page memo (double-spaced, 12-inch font, 1-inch margins) which summarizes the response you would give to your cousin. Focus on addressing all the points that your cousin raises about the UN, noting where their criticism is legitimate, where it rests upon a misunderstanding of the power and purpose of the UN, and where it is simply untrue. You do not need to defend the UN in your response, but you should discuss what the UN is capable of doing, what roles it is designed to play in world politics, and what are the limits of its power and authority.
Criteria for Success:
In order to do well on this assignment, you must demonstrate that you understand the power and authority the UN has been given and the limits of that power. You should, for example, clearly explain the role the UN and its various organs is intended to play in preventing war and promoting international security and why the UN was unable to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine. You should also discuss whether you think this means the UN is a “useless” organization. You should also address your cousin’s criticisms that the UN is a bloated bureaucracy that is all talk and no action. What elements of this criticism are true? What elements are overstatements or simply false?
Finally, be sure you also address your cousin’s claim that the US should pull out of the UN. Does the US derive any benefits from remaining a member of the UN? Is the UN useless as your cousin claims?
