Though there have been numerous studies on the United Nations, only a few have dealt comprehensively with Africa’s relations with the world body. This book attempts to fill this lacuna by providing a systematic assessment of Africa’s relationship with the World body, from its foundation in 1945 to its sixtieth anniversary in 2005. Argues that there have been some real successes in Africa’s relationship with the world body - such as the joint efforts against the Apartheid regime in South Africa - as well as real failures - such as in the genocide in Rwanda. 240pp, UK. ADONIS & ABBEY PUBLISHERS.

New in paperback. From the killing fields of Rwanda and Srebrenica a decade ago to those of Darfur today, the United Nations has repeatedly failed to confront genocide. This is evinced, LeBor maintains, in a May 1995 document from Yasushi Akashi, the most senior UN official in the field during the Yugoslav wars, in which he refused to authorize air strikes against the Serbs for fear they would 'weaken' Milosevic. More recently, in 2003, urgent reports from UN officials in the Sudan detailing atrocities from Darfur were ignored for a year because they were politically inconven-ient. This book is the first to examine in detail the crucial role of the Secretariat, its relationship with the Security Council, and the failure of UN officials themselves to confront genocide. LeBor argues the UN must return to its founding principles, take a moral stand and set the agenda of the Security Council instead of merely following the lead of the great powers. Index, bib, notes, 326pp, USA. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Argues that Africa and the West have engaged in a dialogue of the deaf at the UN and other international forums since the continent's lost decade of the 1980s. The dialogue runs as follows: Africans call for an annulment of what they see as an unpayable external debt of $290 billion and note that they have paid back $550 billion out of an initial debt of $540 billion between 1970 and 2002; the West continues to roll over the debt and offers periodic debt relief for an ailing African patient. Africans call for the West to meet aid targets of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP) set as far back as 1970; the West responds by continuing to maintain average annual aid levels of about 0.3 per cent and to make persistent unmet prom-ises to reach the target of 0.7 per cent. Finally, Africans call on the rich world to live up to its free trade principles by eliminating agricultural subsidies that prevent the continent from growing out of poverty; the West continues to maintain subsidies of over $311 billion that by 2001 had surpassed the entire economic strength of sub-Saharan Africa. Index, bib, 298pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JACANA.

A study of the workings of the United Nations in relation to Africa offering an appraisal of the politics of development that hamper poorer countries. Index, bib, notes, tables, notes, xiii, 180pp, USA. UNIVERSITY PRESS OF AMERICA, 0761826688

The United Nations increasingly finds itself at the centre of world events in an age of rapid globalization. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we understand its structure and functions. In this highly readable book, a prominent news correspondent at the UN provides an introduction to its activities and goals. Index, bib, apps, 244pp, USA. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

The autobiography of the former Under-Secretary General of the UN, the first woman to hold the post. A fascinating story in which she visits over 130 countries and meets some of the most important heads of state of the last 40 years. Illustrated with b/w photographs. Index, maps, diags, 544pp, UK. WILEY NETQUOTEVAR:JOHN & SONS LTD, 0470854316

Edited proceedings from the Institute for Global Dialogue's 2006 conference, reflecting on the UN's manifold accomplishments and failures with particular reference to its role in Africa. 277pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL DIALOGUE.

Explores UN bureaucracy and the development dysfunction it sews in four 'most different' African countries: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Tanzania. Wilson's original purpose for researching this book was to uncover new solutions to some of the United Nations' most vexing implementation problems. Yet, as research unfolded, it became clear that the reasons for those problems lay tangled up in bureaucratic and philosophical quagmires of a much more funda-mental nature. This book is the documentation not only of these bureaucratic and hilosophical absurdities that find expression through development practice, but also the journey of the author from ardent defender of the UN to profound sceptic. 256pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

A candid account of the conflict between the United States and the United Nations discussing the implications for the future of international order and security. The author also describes the inside story of emergencies in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Haiti. Index, xi, 352pp, UK. I B. TAURIS, 186064497X