Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. What is the UN? -- 2. Founding documents -- 3. The Secretary-General and the Secretariat -- 4. A new global landscape -- 5. The American ambassador -- 6. The Security Council -- 7. The General Assembly -- 8. Rubbing elbows and egos in the UN village -- 9. Peace operations -- 10. International terrorism and WMDs -- 11. Human rights and R2P -- 12. ECOSOC and NGOs -- 13. The UN to the rescue -- 14. Sustainable development in the new millennium -- 15. Global connections -- 16. Climate change -- 17. Keeping tabs on how nations vote -- 18. The call for reform -- 19. Paying for it all -- 20. Action in the field with UNHCR: a staffer's challenging first assignment -- Appendix A. Diplomat for a day : the model UN -- Appendix B. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Appendix C. UN Member States.

"Termed "the indispensable source on the United Nations" by Joseph S. Nye of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, this book is now fully revised and updated to include new material on fragile states, R2P (responsibility to protect), recent Security Council issues such as the revolts in Libya and Syria, and a greatly expanded section on understanding and participating in a Model UN. "This easily readable overview of the main activities of the United Nations system provides the reader with an appreciation of its complexity and of its many programs and agencies."--James S. Sutterlin, author of The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Security; Distinguished Fellow in UN Studies, Yale University "With highly readable and journalistic clarity, the author leads readers through the complex organizational structure of the United Nations. Her concise and entertaining narrative sheds light on its mission, evolution, and controversies."-Jackie Gropman and Susan Woodcock, School Library Journal"-- Provided by publisher.