An Evolving Collective Security Order in the Last Seventy-Seven Years: Its Impact in the Fields of International Conflict Containment

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) is the second model of the Collective Security concept after the League of Nations. Its original mandate as captured under the UN Charter is the restoration and maintenance of international peace and security. In spite of the fact that the world body’s operations in its seventy-seven years of existence have shown a slight shift from its original focus, international conflict containment remains the UN’s primary role. To this end, the begging question that is often asked is how far has this mandate been fulfilled. Whilst the cynics have insisted it has been one failure after another, results on the ground regarding the UN’s performance in terms of its original mandate and other areas, show remarkable phenomenal achievements notwithstanding the challenges. This paper in explicating the concept of collective security, also evaluates the impact of the UN’s operations regarding the broader term of global conflict containment, as the embodiment of the notion over time. Further, the thrust of this modest study not only assesses the challenges but also examines reforms within the UN system in respect of the world body’s performance in other respects. The paper is a content analysis exploration that mainly draws from secondary and tertiary sources in the form of books, journals, working documents of the UN, magazines, and international legal documents, inter alia.  The study discovered that reforms within the new order have not only enhanced international conflict resolution and management but also brought about positive changes in the well-being of world citizens through encompassing policies such as the Millennium Challenge Goals. To that extent, the author calls for consensus building within the UN Security Council and member-states for that matter, as well as, their fullest commitment and contributions towards the realization of the UN’s aims and objectives. Finally, several scholarly arguments are highlighted in this paper that aim at informing practitioners in particular, on lessons and concerns that are inimical to the realization of the set goals of the collective security architecture of which, the UN is the main vehicle.

Key words and expressions: Collective security architecture, conflict containment, evolving, impact, reforms, and the United Nations.

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/13-2-05

Publication date: February 28^th 2023