4.4 Globalization and Global Organizations


To what extent did world events shape contemporary economic globalization?


The growth and power of international organizations has also led to the expansion of globalization. Many global organizations connect people and governments all around the world, and many of them have the stated goal of increasing prosperity.

The United Nations


The United Nations (UN) is a driving force that connects the nations of the world. It provides a global forum for everyone around the world and has led to greater interdependence among nations.

Among its goals, the United Nations includes the following concepts:

  • human rights

  • international law

  • social progress and improved living standards




The League of Nations (an early version of the United Nations) was formed after World War I as nations struggled to find ways to cooperate and live peacefully with one another. In many ways, the League was a failure, but many countries felt that its goals were important, so in 1945, after World War II, the United Nations was formed. Leaders around the world realized that they must learn to live with each other and look for peaceful solutions to conflicts to prevent another world war. The United Nations was founded with 50 nations signing the United Nations Charter. Since that time, it has grown to include almost the entire world.

Almost every independent country is a member of the United Nations. Each member nation is assessed dues to fund the operations of the United Nations organization.

The United Nations has many components. The General Assembly is the main body, presided over by the Secretary-General, who is elected every five years. All member nations are represented with one vote each. The current Secretary-General is António Guterres, who began his term of office in January 2017. A very powerful body of the UN is the UN Security Council, which has ten temporary seats representing the various regions of the world, and five permanent members, each of whom has veto power on any UN resolution. These are China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States, the nations that won World War II. The Security Council is responsible for maintaining world peace and security and, unlike other bodies of the United Nations, its decisions are binding on the UN as a whole.

The United Nations does many things, but primarily it tries to make the world a better place. This is a great challenge because the nations of the world have many different and competing interests. The large membership makes decision making difficult and slow, and decisions are not always satisfactory to all members. The United Nations has various agencies with responsibility for different things: the General Assembly, Security Council, International Court of Justice, UNICEF (UN International Children's Fund), and the WHO (World Health Organization). The United Nations also hosts many conferences to discuss world issues.



Jonathan Blair/National Geographic Stock
The United Nations has had great success in some areas and less success in others. Some notable endeavours include the following:

  • Peacekeeping: The bulk of UN money goes into worldwide peacekeeping. UN peacekeepers have been able to resolve some conflicts, such as in East Timor in 1999-2000. Other times, such as in Rwanda in 1994, peacekeepers failed to prevent violence and genocide.

  • Human Rights: The UN has worked towards international standards in human rights and has made some progress through international pressure on offending nations.

  • Emergency Assistance: The UN provides much assistance in times of emergency; it coordinates international action in times of crisis.

  • Quality of Life: The UN's Millennium Development Goals established targets to reduce poverty and improve conditions for people around the world.