Council Unbound: The Growth of UN Decision Making on Conflict And Postconflict Issues After the Cold War [Paperback]

Michael J. Matheson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1929223781 | ISBN-13: 978-1929223787 | Publication Date: December 30, 2006

Examines the UN Security Council’s new, expansive exercise of legal authority in the post-Cold War period and its devising of bold and innovative methods—coercive and noncoercive—to stop nascent wars and “threats to the peace,” including international terrorism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This important and timely book covers a range of inernational legal issues arising int he work of the Council in the postCold War era. It is a straightforward, readable account of legal (and some policy) developments in the Council, chiefly over the period 1990 to 2005. . . . Matheson describes the legal developments in their historical and policy context, distilling the essence of his long and close involvement in the workings of the Council from the perspective of the United States, the Council's most powerful member. It is, in his words, 'neither a history nor a legal treatise.' At a time when much is being written about the Council from a theoretical point of view, it is irefreshing to read a work grounded in reality, based on the practice of states and teh practice of the Council. --American Journal of International Law, Volume 101

From the Publisher

"Drawing on his extensive experience as a top-level State Department attorney, Matheson has written an exceptionally authoritative, informed and balanced study of the development, scope and potential of the Security Council's legal authority to deal with conflict situations. Clear, concise, comprehensive and thoughtful, his book is a major contribution and will be an invaluable resource for everyone interested in this important aspect of international law and U.S. foreign policy."

--Richard Bilder, Foley and Lardner-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Due to his decades of experience as a leading lawyer in the U.S. State Department, few people know more about the UN Security Council than Michael Matheson. This book enables readers to benefit from his accumulated knowledge, offering a brilliant examination of one of the most important topics in public international law today: the Security Council's greatly expanded use of its legal authority in the post-cold war era, and the resulting elaboration of that authority. From the creation of new peacekeeping missions and sanctions regimes to the establishment of ad hoc international tribunals--in which Matheson played a critical role--the past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary developments at the Council, and Matheson applies his keen eye and exceptional analytical mind to examining the legal implications of these developments. His writing is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read. This book makes an important contribution to contemporary international law and international organization scholarship, and is a must read for all those who want to understand how law guides and is affected by Security Council action."

--Judge Theodor Meron, President, The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

"As Deputy Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department for more than a decade, Mike Matheson was at ground zero in promoting the post-Cold War renaissance of the U.N. Security Council. No state more influential in flexing the muscles of the Council than the United States, and no lawyer within the U.S. government was more instrumental in crafting the U.S. position than Matheson. Anyone interested in an insider's perspective on the robust emergence of the Security Council during this formative period, one that succinctly and yet with nuance explores all the relevant legal and political issues, will want to read Council Unbound."

--Sean Murphy, Professor of Law, George Washington University, and former legal counselor at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague

"This well-researched and documented, well-written book, presents the conclusions of one of the State Department's foremost legal advisors on the UN Security Council, its operations and activities, since the end of the Cold War. For all who want to understand, in particular, the legal elements of the expansion of the Council's scope of work and its activities, this book is a concise, clear and user-friendly guide."

--Thomas Pickering, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1989-1992

"At a time when the United Nations is under withering criticism and America's commitment to what it stands for is in doubt at home and abroad, this book could not be more relevant, sensible, useful--and persuasive. Mathesons' defense of the UN in general and the Security Council in particular is all the more compelling because it is rigorous in its argument, realistic in its assessments, and deeply informed by his own vast experience on the front lines of international law and American diplomacy."

--Strobe Talbott, President, The Brookings Institution

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Product Details

• Paperback: 422 pages
• Publisher: United States Institute of Peace Press (December 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929223781
• ISBN-13: 978-1929223787
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,102,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)