Utopia Lost: The United Nations and World Order.

• Author: Saffron, Joseph

Recent works with UN reform themes tend to fall into one of two categories: those preoccupied with an emerging peacekeeping mission and those whose breadth exceeds their depth. The third effort on international affairs by the chief editorial writer of the London Times marks another contribution to the burgeoning literature on UN reform; however, this effort is distinguished from its peers by its comprehensiveness. Righter not only examines the UN from virtually every angle, but does so with respect to Governments, whose diplomatic needs will cause them to "discriminate in favor of what works". (One might add the words "in their interest".)

With a dose of realpolitik, Righter tempers the conventional wisdom and idealistic vision of an emergent UN paving the way in the new world order. For the UN to "work" in the next century, it will have to appeal to Governments as a legitimate means to achieving multilateral ends. Such appeal is presently lost amidst the UN's enormous complexity, which all too frequently...