Review: Beyond Repair
| Author | Marvin Gelber |
| Published date | 01 March 1975 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207503000123 |
| Date | 01 March 1975 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
181
United
States
diplomatic
practice.
Although
Henry
Brandon
is
no
Dr
Pangloss,
one cannot
help
but
feel
that
an
author
less
concerned
with the
continuation
of
an
access
vital
to
his
reportorial
future
might
have
produced
a
somewhat
more
critical
work.
Overall,
both
books
are
superior
examples
of
their
genres.
Colin
S.
Gray/International
Institute
for
Strategic
Studies
BEYOND
REPAIR
The
urgent
need for
a
new
world
body
Arnold
Simoni
Toronto:
Collier-Macmillan,
1972,
xxii,
210pp,
$6.95
cloth,
$3.95
paper
Mr
Simoni
tells
us
that
the
Lateran
Council
of
1139,
as
an
early
example
of
arms
control,
limited
the
crossbow
to
use
against infidels
and thus
enjoyed a
short
eternity.
In
the
nuclear
age
technology
has
imposed its
own
restraints.
Even
the
most
powerful are
unable
to
defend
themselves
against
major
attack. Constant
readiness
supersedes
widespread
mobilization
and
the
bilateral
balance
has
expanded
into
an
even
more
unstable
multilateral
balance.
The
United
Nations
is
totally
unsuited
to its
purposes and
must
give
way
to
a
new
body
more
modest,
more
realistic,
with
nothing
in
its
charter
without
clearly
defined procedures
for
implementation.
As
constituted
it
is
totally
unsuited
for
its
purposes.
Since
its
'decisions
do
not matter
very
much,
nations
can
support
the
institution
and
go
on
record
as
subscribing
to
the
high
ideals of
the
Charter.
This
is
what
has
permitted the
world
body to
survive
this
long
...'
The
Assembly
is
unrepresentative
but
'by
comparison
the
United
Nations
bureaucracy
is
even
worse.'
Mr
Simoni
feels
that
an
'ideal'
body
should
be
abandoned
in
favour
of
one
whose
legislative
functions and
powers
are
very
much
limited.
He
wants
a
charter
that
is
'comprehensive,'
setting
out
in
detail
programmes
of
international
agencies
for
security,
economic
policies,
and
human
rights.
There
should
be
an
international
broad-
casting
system
to
facilitate
dialogue
between
nations,
to provide
every
nation
with the
opportunity
to
defend
its
position.
It
must
address
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