The United Nations (article) | World War II | Khan Academy (2024)

The United Nations emerged after World War II as an international peacekeeping organization.

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  • Jeff Kelman

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Jeff Kelman's post “How is it fair to say, th...”

    How is it fair to say, that for hundreds upon hundreds of years, the great Imperialist nations, (the USA, UK, Russia, etc.) all carved out territories and nations for themselves around the globe, and then say that no young nations could have their own annexations or sphere of influence? We are witnessing this today in the middle east and in Africa as nations wish to create new territories and build and change their borders, and we say "no, you aren't allowed to do that." That seems a bit hypocritical to me. I understand the grand high moral stance that this notion of peace is based on, but is it predicated on the notion that all of Earth's national borders were to be set in stone forever into infinity from the year 1946 onwards? How was and is this hypocrisy justified coming from the stance of the great powers to any number of small nations in their own growth stages today?

    Additionally, how is seen as fair, and is it even wise, to have permanent members of the "Security Council"? Sure seems like that is bound to cause problems in the long run, and I mean long run i.e. 100, 200, even 500 or 1,000 years. These sorts of organizations cannot possibly account for all the change the Earth will go through in those longer periods of time.

    (39 votes)

    • Chris Downs

      8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Chris Downs's post “I think part of the reaso...”

      The United Nations (article) | World War II | Khan Academy (4)

      I think part of the reason that the UN has issues with Middle Eastern and African countries trying to build and change their borders isn't the concept of border changes itself (though maps and globes would need to change with each power shift). In my opinion, their reason behind such a strong opposition to border changes is the means by which the parties trying to acquire these additions are doing it. When you look to these border skirmishes, it isn't war, in most cases. It's just plain massacre. Not to mention that the Geneva Convention was just COMPLETELY thrown out the window when countries like Iran and whatnot aimed for these gains. Citizens are being executed, insurrections and rebellions are spreading like rabbits, and thousands of innocents are being killed, kidnapped, raped, and enslaved. That is why the UN is having issues with these budding Imperial nations, and particularly the US, who sees it as enough of an issue to send soldiers over there. A good example of this was the Gulf War, which I am going to assume many of you all know about, but if you don't know, or don't understand the connection, I will link you a Wikipedia page to read through:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

      I will sum up my example here: Iraq was trying to annex Kuwait for its oil, and they were doing it by force. This war is a classic(ish) example of the strong protecting the weak, as Kuwait's military is not as developed as that of the United States. The forceful annexation was the issue, rather than the annexation itself. If Kuwait decided to be annexed out of the people's popular vote, I don't think that there would have been an issue, although the popular vote wasn't the case as Iraq just came and stormed their country.

      (18 votes)

  • Harkrit Dhillon

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Harkrit Dhillon's post “How many countries are in...”

    How many countries are in the United Nations Right Now?

    (7 votes)

  • zhiqiangzeng

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to zhiqiangzeng's post “Why did the Soviet Union ...”

    Why did the Soviet Union and the USA have permanent seats and not the other countries?

    (6 votes)

    • danielberning

      8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to danielberning's post “It says that there are fi...”

      The United Nations (article) | World War II | Khan Academy (11)

      It says that there are five permanent seats. The other three included France, Great Britain, and China. This was because they were the main Allied powers during WWII.

      (11 votes)

  • mohan .muzhikulath

    7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to mohan .muzhikulath's post “who designed the united...”

    who designed the united nations emblem?

    (6 votes)

    • briancsherman

      7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to briancsherman's post “Donal McLaughlin, a membe...”

      The United Nations (article) | World War II | Khan Academy (15)

      Donal McLaughlin, a member of Oliver Lincoln Lundquist's design team at the United States Office of Strategic Services, designed the UN emblem in 1945 for a conference. In 1946, after some slight changes, it was approved by the UN as their official emblem.

      (10 votes)

  • jb268536

    2 years agoPosted 2 years ago. Direct link to jb268536's post “What is the cod war?”

    What is the cod war?

    (4 votes)

    • David Alexander

      2 years agoPosted 2 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Nations that competed to ...”

      Nations that competed to catch the most codfish in the northern atlantic escalated their conflict to confrontation, but there was no shooting.

      (5 votes)

  • Asad847

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Asad847's post “Israel was a new country ...”

    Israel was a new country created after WWII so that the Jewish people could have their own sense of a nation. Despite good intentions with creating Israel, explain why this decision by the United Nations is controversial.

    (4 votes)

    • Hecretary Bird

      4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Hecretary Bird's post “The creation of Israel is...”

      The creation of Israel is so controversial because the land that was granted to the Jewish was inhabited by Muslin. Jerusalem, a holy land for three religions, was suddenly under the control of a people that hadn't been there since the Jewish Diaspora. Arab people were concerned that they would lose control of the Holy Land, and controversy and conflict ensued.

      (5 votes)

  • jeffrey.zamora022

    6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to jeffrey.zamora022's post “where is the united natio...”

    where is the united nation know

    (3 votes)

    • William Vaughan

      6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to William Vaughan's post “NYC is the permanent head...”

      NYC is the permanent headquarters of the general assembly.

      (6 votes)

  • chhuon.menglin

    a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to chhuon.menglin's post “Fundamentally, the UN was...”

    Fundamentally, the UN was created for the purpose of international peacekeeping of states, resolving conflicts, making peaceful negotiations over territories. In fact, the UN charter tends to tell the world that this organization basically helps resolve territorial conflicts, having no war over land aggrandizement, and building trust for other states on this organization. In an old saying goes" In a cave, there is only only saber-tooth tiger". Herein, the aims of the UN was to make a solution for conflict sated, negotiate over dispute, and create harmony for cosmopolitan areas. Otherwise, the cold war detrimentally affected and spoiled the main purposes of UN in terms of conflicts. Still, there were prolonging conflicts inside peacekeeping house between
    two superpowers, namely the former Soviet Union and the US. Later, the UN evolved in to a powerful organization that pictured a positive view for other former colonial countries such as Asia, Middle-East, and Africa. Admittedly, the US had burden of duties to maintain order and enforce international fundamental human rights. Simply put, the US was so-called " Third world".

    (5 votes)

  • Kaka-Carrot-Cake

    3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Kaka-Carrot-Cake's post “Can countries like drop o...”

    Can countries like drop out of the UN or is it like a permanent membership once you join?

    (3 votes)

    • David Alexander

      3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Nations have been expelle...”

      Nations have been expelled. Taiwan was thrown out in 1971. When nations go out of existence (like the German Democratic Republic and Yugoslavia) their membership, likewise, expires.

      (4 votes)

  • Sanya Sharma

    5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Sanya Sharma's post “How has the United Nation...”

    How has the United Nations impacted economic decisions in countries that are a part of it? What are some of the key measures taken by the UN to promote economic development? Additionally, how do countries benefit from the UN?

    (3 votes)

The United Nations (article) | World War II | Khan Academy (2024)

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