A Study on the US-IRAQ Conflict and its Implications to the International System of Peace

Abstract

The United Nations was thought as mankind's best hope for peace. However, after more than half a century of experiments in peacekeeping, the United Nations remains in a serious crisis of relevance. Even before the time it was created, there were already serious doubts whether or not an international organization of states, based on the principle of collective security, could actually “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” What was originally envisioned by the great architects of the world system was far from the ideals of an institution upholding the equality and sovereignty of states. Instead, the major powers after the Second World War bypassed the principles of the United Nations in pursuing their objectives. The question on the credibility of the United Nations as an organization of states tasked to maintain peace continues after the Cold War period. The US-Iraq crisis reveals that after the Cold War, superpower unilateralism remains as the determining factor in the international system of peace and security.