Over forty years of service to the United Nations -
the last ten as Secretary-General - Kofi Annan has been
at the centre of the major geopolitical events of our
time. Drawing on his recollections of major figures from
Tony Blair to George W. Bush, Yasser Arafat to Yitzhak
Rabin, Saddam Hussein to Nelson Mandela,
''Interventions'' offers a unique, behind-the-scenes
view of global diplomacy during one of the most
consequential eras in recent history. With eloquence and
immediacy, Annan recounts the highs and lows of his
years at the United Nations: from shuttle-diplomacy
during crises such as Kosovo, Lebanon and
Israel-Palestine to the disastrous and wrenching battles
over the Iraq War and the creation of the landmark
Responsibility to Protect doctrine. He writes with
unprecedented candour about the organization's ongoing
challenges and failed efforts - the tragedies of
Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia, continuing violence in the
Middle East, the endurance of AIDS and endemic poverty
on his home continent, and much else. Yet Annan embeds
these crises within the context of global politics,
revealing how, time and again, the nations of the world
have retreated from the UN's radical mandate.He makes a
passionate case for a United Nations that serves the
interests of individuals around the globe rather than of
its member states, and that intervenes, rather than
stands by, in the face of humanitarian crisis.
Ultimately, Annan shows readers a world where solutions
are available, if we have the will and courage to see
them through. An unparalleled personal history of
international statecraft, ''Interventions'' is as much a
memoir as a guide to world order - past, present, and
future. |
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