Question

Study the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

The UN is an imperfect body, but without it the world would be worse off. Given the growing connections and links between societies and issue - what we often call ‘interdependence’ - it is hard to imagine how more than seven billion people would live together without an organization such as the UN. Technology promises to increase planetary interdependence, and, therefore, the importance of the UN will only increase. Peoples and governments will have to find ways of supporting and using the UN and other international organisations in ways that are consistent with their own interests and the interests of the international community more broadly.

1. Identify any two limitations of the United Nations that make it an imperfect body.
2. How would the world be worse off if there were no United Nations? Explain.
3. Given any one example of planetary interdependence.

Answer 1

1. 1. To address the requirements of its members, the United Nations (UN) was established by its members. Its jurisdiction is limited to what its member states accept.
   2. In the UN, the United States (US) has significant influence. One of the largest donors to the UN budget is the United States. Many UN officers are American, and the UN is also physically located in the US. This implies that the UN is unable to oppose US hegemony.
2. 1. The UN’s main goal is to make it easier for its member states to communicate and work together. Countries would not have a safe place to hold talks without the UN. This could lead to many disagreements or even fights.
   2. The UN also looks into development and environmental issues and helps people negotiate them.
3. Global health crises, epidemics, war, refugees, and problems with the global commons, which affect more than one country and need unity and action from all over the world, are all examples of planetary interdependence.