United Nations reform: the need for legitimacy

Abstract

nited Nations reform debates have tended to focus on how to change the organizational structure of the United Nations in order to make it more efficient. The central question addressed by this thesis is one that has received little attention in these reform debates: "what can the UN, and only the UN, add to our efforts to control conflict?" This thesis examines the hypothesis that the United Nations is unique in its potential ability to build international consensus and to bring international legitimacy to collective response efforts. The goal of this thesis is to show that while the U.N. is ineffective, organizational reforms such as providing the UN standby forces, improving its ability to command forces, or creating an Inspector General will not solve the most critical threat to the organization - its declining legitimacy in the world. This thesis reveals that new problems in a changing world require collective response, hence, the need for a legitimate UN.