Cooperating for Peace: The Global Agenda for the 1990s and Beyond.

• Author: Saffron, Joseph A.

Gareth Evans St. Leonards, New South Wales, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 1993 224 pp. $14.50 ISBN 1-86373-623-9

The golden anniversary of the United Nations is certainly an appropriate time to ponder its future course, even more so given the UN's post-cold war revitalization in world affairs. What individual attitudes must be developed and prevail for the UN to be able to fulfill its Charter goals? Can a fine line be struck between supranationality and national sovereignty? What globally shared interests should fall under the jurisdiction of the UN? What can be expected in future peace operations? Three complementary works provide individual, institutional and global perspectives on the UN, and a useful critique of its policy, structure and missions within a changing global security arena.

New Page author UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor writes that the twentieth century has been characterized by a "culture of war", a culture of violence taught and reinforced by contemporary sociological mores. Fortunately, the century's close has been witness to a new environment where State security is increasingly defined in non-military terms. A historically rare opportunity to develop a "culture of peace", based on a moral "culture of democracy", is therefore at hand.

In The United Nations at the Crossroads of Reform, scholar Wendell Gordon shares Senator William Fulbright's observation: "We do not think the UN is a failure. We think it has never been tried." Asserting that organizations evolve or become extinct, Gordon calls for a long overdue conference to review the UN Charter. Adopting an institutional focus, he methodically examines the Charter and offers recommendations for improvement.

Lastly, in Cooperating for Peace, Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans employs case study analyses of UN responses to global crises, successfully capturing the complex nuances of UN field operations.

Mayor defines peace-building as a synergy resulting from simultaneous fiscal and social investment in basic and compulsory education, scientific investigation, communication, the production and sharing of knowledge and responsible civic action. For his part, Evans adds that building peace also entails government responsibility to meet societal needs for security, a decent standard of living and...