This book begins by describing the ideas and circumstances that led to the birth of the United Nations. Particular attention is given to the League of Nations as the precursor to what would become the truly global UN organisation. Aspects of the Cold War and the so-called New World Order are highlighted as shaping the two broad phases of UN evolution.

Detailed profiles are given of the main conflicts that have involved the United Nations through its first half-century. Here emphasis is given to the impact of the United States as the principal founder-member and the main post-Second World War hegemonic power. The author argues that the United States typically coerces the United Nations (and such UN-linked bodies as GATT, the IMF and the World Bank) to serve the strategic and economic interests of the United States and world capitalism.