Literature on the UN is as wide-ranging as the organisation's remit; there exists a multitude of books, articles and reports on its various programmes and activities. The very breadth of literature about the organisation can make it hard to navigate and understand.
The format of this Major Work is ideally suited to a serious treatment of the United Nations that can clarify and illuminate its structures and role, and make it accessible to scholars and practitioners. The generous eight-volume format, containing the best cross-disciplinary articles from around the world, provides an opportunity to present a comparative and holistic analysis of the organisation.
Framed by a contextualising introductory chapter, this major work will allow for the interconnections between the UN's humanitarian, developmental, environmental and peace and security work to be more deeply explored and elaborated upon.

Volume 1: Origins and Evolution
Volume 2: Machinery
Volume 3: Roles and Relationships
Volume 4: A UN for the 21st Century
Volume 5: Conflict and Crisis
Volume 6: Rights, Justice and Protection
Volume 7: Poverty and Development
Volume 8: Environment and Sustainability

VOLUME ONE: ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION
Charter of the United Nations - United Nations
The Development of International Organization in the Nineteenth Century - Inis L. Claude, Jr
From League of Nations to United Nations - Leland M. Goodrich
FDR¿s Five Policemen: Creating the United Nations - Stephen Schlesinger
Victories on the International Front - Dorothy Kenyon
Some Reflections on Peace in Our Time - Ralph Bunche
Speech to the General Assembly, 11 November 1952 - Vijara Lakshmi Pandit
The Commonwealth in the United Nations - Gwendolen M. Carter
The Role of the United Nations in World Affairs - Geoffrey Goodwin
Speech to the UN General Assembly, 6 October 1963 - Haile Selassie
Apartheid and the United Nations - Ram Malhotra
The Impact of African States on the United Nations - David Kay
The United Nations and the International System - Oran R. Young
Promoting Nondiscrimination against Women: The UN Commission on the Status of Women - Margaret E. Galey
Kofi Annan Unsettles People, as He Believes UN Should Do - Barbara Crossette
United Nations - Madeleine K. Albright
In Larger Freedom - The Changing Role of the United Nations - Kofi Annan
The United Nations - Jeffrey Herbst, Roméo Dallaire, and Peter W. Galbraith
Dialectics of a Global Constitution: The Struggle over the UN Charter - Michael Doyle
The Enduring Myth of the UN - Natalie Samarasinghe
New Histories of the United Nations - Sunil Amrith and Glenda Sluga
VOLUME TWO: MACHINERY
UN System Organization Chart - United Nations
The Forgotten Design for the System - Erskine Childers and Brian Urquhart
International Organizations: Then and Now - José E. Alvarez
General Assembly - M. J. Peterson
Revitalization of the General Assembly - Lydia Swart
The Interpretation of Security Council Resolutions - Michael Wood
Assessing the UN Security Council: a Concert Perspective - David Bosco
The Security Council: Behind the Scenes - Linda Melvern
Developments at the United Nations - Written Evidence Submitted to the UK Iraq Inquiry - Jeremy Greenstock
Does the United Nations Security Council Enhance or Undermine International Law? - Kishore Mahbubani
The Influence of States and Groups of States on and in the Security Council and General Assembly, 1980-94 - Sally Morphet
Economic and Social Council - Gert Rosenthal
Implementing Rio +20: ECOSOC¿s New Role and its Old Culture - Harris Gleckman
The United Nations and Colonial Development - Annette Baker Fox
The Commonwealth and the United Nations Trusteeship of Non-Self-Governing Peoples - L.P. Singh
The Role of the International Court of Justice In the Global Community - Christopher Greenwood
Departing Thoughts on the International Court of Justice - Rosalyn Higgins
Post-Cold War Justice: The UN Ad Hoc Tribunals, Mixed Courts and the ICC - Richard J. Goldstone and Adam M. Smith
Secretariat - Independence and Reform - James O. C. Jonah
The Office of the Secretary-General and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security - Nabil Elaraby
Strategic Planning in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General - Abiodun Williams
The Next Secretary-General: How to Fill a Job with No Description - Brian Urquhart
Breaking Barriers? Women's Representation and Leadership at the United Nations - Kirsten Haack
Negotiating the UN's budget: Multilateralism in Action - Hannah Davies
VOLUME THREE: ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS
Collective Legitimization as a Political Function of the United Nations - Inis L. Claude, Jr
International Organization: A State of the Art and Art of the State - Friedrich Kratochwil and John Gerard Ruggie
United Nations "Policy": An Argument with Three Illustrations - Ramesh Thakur and Thomas G. Weiss
Sovereignty as Responsibility" to the "Responsibility to Protect" - Francis M. Deng
Sovereignty in the Balance: Claims and Bargains at the UN Conferences on the Environment, Human Rights and Women - Kathryn Hochstetler, Ann Marie Clark and Elisabeth J. Friedman
The United Nations as a Political System: A Practicing Political Scientist's Insights into UN Politics - J.J. Kirkpatrick
Facing 21st Century Threats: Why America Needs the UN - Susan Rice
The Centrality of the United Nations in Russian Foreign Policy - Ritsa Panagiotou
Middle Range Powers in Global Governance - Hongying Wang and Erik French
Challenges Facing Small States at the UN - Vanu Gopala Menon
How Goliath Slew David at the United Nations: A South Asian Perspective - Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
The "Third Force" and the United Nations - Khalid I Babaa
The North-South Divide at the United Nations: Fading at Last? - David M. Malone and Lotta Hagman
Islamist Perceptions of the United Nations and its Peacekeeping Missions: Some Preliminary Findings - Brynjar Lia
The Origins and Development of UN Electoral Groups - Sam Daws
Informal Groups of States and the UN Security Council - Jochen Prantl
UN Elections: Power, Influence, Reputation - Anne Anderson
Eyes on the Prize: The Quest for Nonpermanent Seats on the UN Security Council - David M. Malone
The United Nations and Regional Organizations: The Need For Clarification and Cooperation - Tania Felicio
The UN and the African Union's Security Architecture: Defining an Emerging Partnership? - Kwesi Aning
Nongovernmental Organizations in the United Nations System: The Emerging Role of International Civil Society - Dianne Otto
The Global Compact: Selected Experiences and Reflections - Georg Kell
VOLUME FOUR: A UN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Security, Solidarity, and Sovereignty: The Grand Themes of UN Reform - Ann-Marie Slaughter
How Not to Reform the United Nations - Ed Luck
Grand Goals, Modest Results: The UN in Search of Reform - Jeffrey Laurenti
UN Transformation in an Era of Soft Balancing - Stephen John Stedman
The John W. Holmes Lecture: Can the UN Be Reformed? - M. Malloch Brown
Reforming the United Nations - John Bolton and Richard Holbrooke
Fundamental UN Reform - A Non-Starter or Not? - Thomas G. Weiss
Reforming the United Nations - Prakash Shah
Organizational Culture, System Evolution and the United Nations of the 21st Century - Alisa Clarke
Great Expectations: UN Reform and the Role of the Secretary-General - Simon Chesterman
Management Reform in the United Nations: Between Politics and Efficiency - Joachim Müller
Security Council Reform: The Dual Risks - Sam Daws
Myths of Membership: The Politics of Legitimation in UN Security Council Reform - Ian Hurd
More Transparency and More Participation: The Informal Reform of the Working Methods of the UN Security Council - Helmut Volger
Reforming the Working Methods of the UN Security Council: the next ACT - Volker Lehmann
Making Intervention Work: Improving the UN's Ability to Act - Morton Abramowitz and Thomas Pickering
The UN Security Council and Human Rights: State Sovereignty and Human Dignity - David P. Forsythe
United Nations: New Issues, New Ideas, Not Enough Financing - Vikas Nath
Why We - Especially the West - Need the UN Development System - Kishore Mahbubani
The Way Forward for the WTO: Reforming the Decision-Making Process - Memory Dube
An Historical Perspective - H.W. Singer
The Vision and the Reality - Mahbub ul Haq
The UN and the Financial Crisis: Breathing Life into Bretton Woods - Natalie Samarasinghe
From Keeping Peace to Building Peace: Proposal for a Revitalized United Nations Trusteeship Council - Saira Mohamed
From UN Commission on Human Rights to UN Human Rights Council: One Step Forwards or Two Steps Sideways? - Nazila Ghanea
(Re)generating Peacekeeping Authority: The Brahimi Process - Silke Weinlich
The New United Nations "Gender Architecture": The Creation of UN Women - Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin
The UN in Practice - David Hannay
The Changing Humanitarian Landscape - Sara Pantuliano
Can the UN Ever Really Be Neutral? - John Holmes
Address to the General Assembly - 24 September 2013 - Ban Ki-moon
VOLUME FIVE: CONFLICT & CRISIS
The Evolving Role of the United Nations in International Peace and Security - Marrack Goulding
An Agenda for Peace: Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping - Boutros Boutros-Ghali
When Can Nations Go to War? Politics and Change in the UN Security System - Charlotte Ku
Recommendations of the Secretary-General¿s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change: A Member¿s Perspective - David Hannay
A Shared Responsibility for a More Secure World - Ramesh Thakur
The John Holmes Memorial Lecture: What Price Security? - Margaret Joan Anstee
Human Protection and the 21st Century United Nations - Ban Ki-moon
The UN as Conflict Mediator: First amongst Equals or the Last Resort? - Thant Myint-U
The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes - Ian Brownlie
Building Peace through the Political Processes of the United Nations - Courtney B. Smith
The Security Council and the Rule of Law: An Overview - Christine Gray
The Fall of Saddam Hussein: Security Council Mandates and Preemptive Self-Defense - Ruth Wedgwood
The Evolution of Security Council Innovations in Sanctions - Joanna Weschler
UN Peacekeeping: An Overview - Syed Sikander Mehdi
The UN¿s Role in Nation-Building: From the Congo to Iraq - James Dobbins, Seth G. Jones, Keith Crane, Andrew Rathmell, Brett Steele, Richard Teltschik and Anga Timilsina
Managing Mistrust: An Analysis of Cooperation with UN Peacekeeping in Africa - Andrea Ruggeri, Theodora-Ismene Gizelis and Hans Dorussen
United Nations Police Evolution, Present Capacity and Future Tasks - William J. Durch
Peacekeeping Effects in South America: Common Experiences and Divergent Effects on Civil-Military Relations - Arturo Sotomayor Velázquez
Not Just a Numbers Game: Increasing Women's Participation in UN Peacekeeping - Sahana Dharmapuri
Strengthening the Rights of Women for a Stronger Africa - Zainab Hawa Bangura
Protecting Children in Situations of Armed Conflict: Interview with Radhika Coomaraswamy - Radhika Coomaraswamy
The UN at the Peacemaking-Peacebuilding Nexus - Kyle Beardsley
Disarmament: Old Challenges, New Opportunities - Angela Kane
Rethinking the NPT¿s Role in Security: 2010 and Beyond - Rebecca Johnson
VOLUME SIX: RIGHTS, JUSTICE AND PROTECTION
The UN¿s Human Rights Record: From San Francisco to Vienna and Beyond - Philip Alston
The Question of Domestic Jurisdiction and the Evolution of United Nations Law of Human Rights - Abdulrahim P. Vijapur
Advancing Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: The Way Forward - Mary Robinson
An Overview of the Reform of the UN Human Rights Machinery - Françoise Hampson
UN Treaty Bodies and the Human Rights Council - Nigel S. Rodley
"To See Themselves as Others See Them": The Five Permanent Members of the Security Council and the Human Rights Council¿s Universal Periodic Review - Rhona Smith
Protection of Human Rights through the Mechanism of UN Special Rapporteurs - Surya P. Subedi
Performance and Challenges of the UN Human Rights Council - Theodor Rathgeber
Beijing, Backlash, and the Future of Women¿s Human Rights - Charlotte Bunch
The United Nations, Counter Terrorism, and Human Rights: Institutional Adaption and Embedded Ideas - Rosemary Foot
'New Aid Modalities': An Opportunity or Threat to Principled Engagement on Human Rights? - Mac Darrow
The UN as a Human Rights Violator? Some Reflections on the United Nations Changing Human Rights Responsibilities - Frédéric Mégret and Florian Hoffmann
The Humanitarian Responsibilities of the United Nations Security Council: Ensuring the Security of the People - Juan Somavia
Deputy Secretary-General's Press Conference on Rights Up Front - Jan Eliasson
Intervention - Kofi Annan
Humanitarian Intervention: Getting Past the Reefs - Shashi Tharoor and Sam Daws
The Responsibility to Protect: An Idea Whose Time Has Come ... and Gone? - Gareth Evans
The Responsibility to Protect: The First Decade - Edward C. Luck
The Relationship Between the ICC and the UN Security Council - Louise Arbour
International Justice and Diplomacy - Fatou Bensouda
Transitional Justice in the Arab Countries: Opportunities and Challenges - Mona Rishmawi
VOLUME SEVEN: POVERTY & DEVELOPMENT
Millennium Development Goals: Milestones on a Long Road - Margaret Anstee
International Norm Dynamics and the "End of Poverty": Understanding the Millennium Development Goals - Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and David Hulme
Global Goals - The UN Experience - Richard Jolly
Millennium Development Goal of Halving Poverty in Asia: Progress, Prospects and Priorities - Raghav Gaiha, Katsushi Imai and Mani Arul Nandhi
UN Contributions to Development Thinking and Practice - Dharam Ghai
The World Health Organization and Global Smallpox Eradication - S. Bhattacharya
Seven Challenges in International Development Assistance for Health and Ways Forward - Devi Sridhar
The Road Not Taken: International Aid¿s Choice of Copenhagen over Beijing - Rosalind Eyben
Gender Justice: The World Bank's New Approach to the Poor? - Susanne Schech and Sanjugta Vas
The Imposition of a Global Development Architecture: The Example of Microcredit - Heloise Weber
Development Economics in the Wake of the Washington Consensus: From Smith to Smithereens? - Matthew M. Taylor
Africa Does Not Need Aid, but the Opportunity for Fair Trade - Inwani Malweyi
Life after Bali: Renewing the World Trade Negotiating Agenda - Suparna Karmakar
Reimagining the Role of the Private Sector in Development - Homi Kharas
Power Shift: Do We Need Better Global Economic Institutions? - Ngaire Woods
International Humanitarian Crises: Two Decades before and Two Decades Beyond - Randolph Kent
The Helmet and the Hoe: Linkages between United Nations Development Assistance and Conflict Management - Michèle Griffin
Extract from Reforming Development Cooperation at the United Nations: An Analysis of Policy Position and Actions of Key States on Reform Options - Silke Weinlich
Development and the United Nations: Achievements and Challenges for the Future - Lorna Gold and Eileen Connolly
Conflict & Poverty: A Vicious Cycle - Abiodun Williams
A Matter of Justice: Securing Human Rights in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda - Centre for Economic and Social Rights
Gender - Is One Goal Enough? - Sylvia Chant
Sexual and Reproductive Rights at the United Nations: Frustration or Fulfillment? - Alice M. Miller and Mindy J. Roseman
The Politics of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Is Global Partnership Really Working? - Charles Mutasa
"A New Global Partnership": Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development - Executive Summary - United Nations
A Just and Sustainable World - Amina J. Mohammed
VOLUME EIGHT: ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
Resolution XXIII: Problems of the Human Environment - General Assembly of the United Nations
The Stockholm Conference: Where Science and Politics Meet - Maurice F. Strong
Our Common Future Revisited - Gro Harlem Brundtland
The Role of International Forums in the Advancement of Sustainable Development - Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger
From Stockholm to New York, via Rio and Johannesburg: Has the Environment Lost Its Way on the Global Agenda? - Paolo Galizzi
The United Nations and Global Energy Governance: Past Challenges, Future Choices - Sylvia I. Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen
Implications for UNEP - Mark Halle, Adil Najam and Christopher Beaton
The Green Economy Post Rio+20 - Edward B. Barbier
The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action and the Future of the Climate Regime - Lavanya Rajamani
Is a Global Agreement the Only Way to Tackle Climate Change? - Achim Steiner and David King
Can Climate Change Negotiations Succeed? - Jon Hovi, Tora Skodvin and Stine Aakre
Emerging Powers, North-South Relations and Global Climate Politics - Andrew Hurrell and Sandeep Sengupta
The Rise of BASIC in UN Climate Change Negotiations - Xinran Qi
The EU's Role in Climate Change Negotiations: From Leader to 'Leadiator' - Karin Bäckstrand and Ole Elgström
Managing Climate Change: The Africa Group in Multilateral Environmental Negotiations - Anesu Makina
The Rio+20 Conference and International Law: Towards a Multi-Layered Multilateralism? - Fabiano de Andrade Correa
International Environmental Governance Reform within the United Nations: Seeking More Sustainability Towards and Beyond Rio + 20 Earth Environment Summit - Sylvestre-José-Tidiane Manga
Institutional Design and UNEP Reform: Historical Insights on Form, Function and Financing - Maria Ivanova
How to Build Sustainable Development Goals: Integrating Human Development and Environmental Sustainability in a New Global Agenda - Claire Melamed and Paul Ladd
Sustainable Development and Planetary Boundaries - Johan Rockström, Jeffrey Sachs, Marcus C. Öhman and Guido Schmidt-Traub
The UN Environment Programme on Climate Change and International Security - United Nations
Climate Justice: Challenge and Opportunity - Mary Robinson