Description:
This book explores a transformational period in the history of the United Nations, one during which the attention of the organization became increasingly focused on North-South issues of colonialism, neo imperialism, and the unequal distribution of global wealth. At the center of this transformation stood U. Thant, the first secretary general to originate from a third world country and a leading spokesman for the interest of developing nations. Thant's ten years as secretary general witnessed a series of new peacekeeping missions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and the establishment of institutional structures for the discussions of North-South economic issues. It also witnessed a recovery in the constitutional integrity of the office of secretary general, whose legitimacy had been attacked by the Soviet Union during the last year of the life of Thant's gifted but troubled predecessor, Dag Hammarskjold. But even as the position of secretary general was preserved, the powers of the United Nations and its leader eroded significantly over the course of the decade. Fiscal crisis brought near paralysis; the United States became increasingly alienated from the organization over the former's policies in Viet Nam; and the Arab- Israeli War demonstrated the UN's inability to prevent crisis from descending into war. By the end of Thant's second term, the position of secretary general was more secure but far weaker than it was ten years before.