Book Reviews : The Baltic World, 1772-1993, by David Kirby. London: Longmans, 1995. 472pp. £16.99. Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period, by David Kirby. London: Longmans, 1990. 443pp
| Author | Peter Unwin |
| Date | 01 December 1995 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711789501200607 |
| Published date | 01 December 1995 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
106
law
by
withholding
assessed
contributions.
Even
the
threat
of
such
a
policy
could
have
a
salutary
impact
on
some
of
the
most
profligate
and
ineffective
institutions.
She
also
stresses
the
equally
significant
point
that
most
of
the
meaningful
economic
and
social
activity
in
the
world
takes
place,
not
in
the
United
Nations
with
its
universalist
approach,
but
in
regional
or
sub-regional
groups
such
as
the
European
Union,
ASEAN,
NAFTA
et.
al.
The
Security
Council
is
correctly
recognized
as
providing
a
ladder
(the
’golden
bridle’)
down
which
Great
Powers
can
climb
to
avoid
clashing
with
each
other
in
global
conflict
(Cuba
1962
and
Arab/Israel
1973
are
quoted
as
examples),
but
it
is
emphasized
that
the
’military
articles’
of
the
Charter
are
impracticable.
The
Security
Council
cannot
fight
a
major
war:
the
most
it
can
do
beyond
sanctions
is
to
legitimize
action
by
a
Great
Power-led
coalition
(Korea
1950
and
Iraq/Kuwait
1990).
Otherwise
its
role
will
be
confined
to
’peacekeeping’
and
it
will
be
drawn
into
an
increasing
number
of
conflicts
within
as
opposed
to
between
states,
cf.
Angola,
Mozambique,
Cambodia,
Somalia,
Northern
Iraq,
ex-Yugoslavia
and
others.
Hence
the
rubric
about
non-
interference
in
domestic
affairs
is
eroding.
The
need
for
more
vigorous
preventive
diplomacy
is
underlined
and
I
am
glad
that
Brian
Urquhart’s
idea
for
the
creation of
an
all-volunteer
UN
force
to
deter
conflict
before
it
explodes
out
of
control
is
outlined
in
positive
terms.
All
in
all,
my
general
criticism
of
the
book
is
that
it
is
too
hard
on
the
Third
World
majority.
Of
course
they
damaged
their
own
causes
by
driving
through
anti-Western
resolutions,
by
making
the
welkin
ring
with
anti-American
and
anti-imperialist
(mainly
British)
rhetoric,
by
over-concentration
on
Israel
and
South
Africa.
But
were
all
these
manifestations
not
inevitable?
One
hundred
or
so
newly
independent
member
states
found
themselves
emerging
from
the
frying
pan
of
dependence
into
the
fire
of
an
American-dominated
UN
in
which
they
were
alleged
to
be
equal
partners.
Their
only
strength
lay
in
numbers
and
solidarity,
i.e.
to
use
the
’democratic’
clauses
of
the
American-drafted
Charter
to
achieve a
kind
of
independence.
They
could
not
accept
that
there
was
also
an
unwritten
part
of
the
Charter -
namely
that
it
was
only
relevant
in
practice
as
well
as
in
theory
if
everyone
followed
the
lead
of
the
Great
Powers,
especially
the
United
States;
and
that
the
Soviet
Union,
under
its
cloak
of
support
for
the
Third
World,
was
as
ardent
a
proponent
of
realpolitik
and
national
interest
as
the
West;
also
that
it
had
nothing
practical
to
offer
except
a
handful of
votes
for
resolutions
which
everyone
knew
would
not
be
implemented.
The
Non-Aligned
Movement
cannot
be
blamed
for
taking
the
Charter
seriously
and
trying
to
make
it
work
to
their
advan-
tage.
They
failed
in
the
economic
field,
but
they
achieved
some
highly
significant
changes
which
affected
the
whole
world,
e.g.
over
decolonization
and
apartheid.
Over
the
next
decade
we
shall
see
how
the
membership
as
a
whole,
not
just
Washington
and
its
allies,
behaves
in
what
must
be
the
most
propitious
international
atmosphere
since
the
UN’s
creation.
SIR
ANTHONY
PARSONS
The
Baltic
World,
1772-1993,
by
David
Kirby.
London:
Longmans,
1995.
472pp.
£16.99.
Northern
Europe
in
the
Early
Modern
Period,
by
David
Kirby.
London:
Longmans,
1990.
443pp.
The
Baltic
States,
The
Years
of
Independence
1917-1940,
by
Georg
von
Rauch.
London:
Hurst
and
Company,
revised
paperback
edition
1995.
265pp.
£12.95.
The
Baltic
States,
The
Years
of
Dependence
1940-1990,
by
Romuald
Misiunas
and
Rein
Taagepera.
London:
Hurst
and
Company,
revised
paperback
edition
1993.
400pp.
£12.95.
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