The United Nations: Professor Melissa Labonte
PORU 2510 - The United Nations
Professor Melissa Labonte
Fordham University, Fall 2008
Purpose and Scope
This course will allow students to explore the evolution of international law and international organization as reflective of processes and institutions within the broader context of contemporary global politics and governance. The intellectual premise is that international law and organization are complementary aspects of a process that seeks to stabilize international politics and relations among states and other global actors through the evolution of an agreed framework of permissible behavior. The limits and promises of this process form the central point of inquiry.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the United Nations system and its specialized agencies, including critical examination of their role in addressing current issues in world politics such as international security, international legal responsibility, human rights, humanitarian relief, sustainable human development, the environment, the global financial architecture, and transnational threats. Key theoretical approaches to the study of international law and organization will be studied, including realism, liberalism, organization theory/bureaucratic politics, functionalism, multilateralism, regime theory, positivism, and natural law. The role of regional arrangements/organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and other UN system actors will also be covered.
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