Conflict Prevention, Development, And Peace-Building Assignment

Conflict Prevention, Development, And Peace-Building - Assignment Example   In saying this, the author generalized his assertions, insinuating that all Secretary-General’s successes have been predetermined by the performance of their predecessors. Research shows that Secretary Generals, like Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Dag Hammarskjold, introduced new approaches to the UN’s operation and were largely successful in terms of changes made and the resources available to them at the time.   The author provides a comprehensive and critical examination of the issues highlighted at the beginning of the article. Although some of the claims are misplaced, there is no ambiguity in his approach to the discussion.   I have learned that peaceful settlements and conflict resolution are multidimensional concepts that require good interplay between multiple entities.   For example, from a superficial point of view, it often seems like the UN is at fault for most of the conflicts witnessed thus far. However, the author takes time to inform the reader tha t the UN is just a proxy for member states; it does what it is told, not the other way round.   People are often quick to ask, "where is the UN?" and "what is the UN doing?", when in actual sense it is the member countries that determine its course of action.   Countries that sit on the UN Security Council are especially guilty of micromanaging the organization because of their influence.   For example, in the Korean War, the United States was primarily responsible for the UN's decision to enter the conflict.