The UN has been more successful than the League of Nations for several reasons. Its more narrow mandate has helped it focus more on human rights, and its ability to stage an international UN military presence has occasionally helped to avoid conflicts. Also, the UN has survived almost three times longer than the League and is still very active.

The world has also changed a great deal since the World War I era, though. For one thing, there are more conflicts in Asia and Africa and fewer in Europe and Latin America. More importantly, however, the Cold War that evolved between Russia and the NATO members has resulted in complex alliances that most closely resemble the original spheres of influence drawn up during the colonial era. Military "treaties" remain in the modern era--including NATO, despite the fact that the Soviet Warsaw Pact disappeared along with the Soviet Union in 1991.

The national treaties between European dynasties that led directly to involvement in World War I, and to the civil wars or revolutions that followed, were replaced by the League of Nations covenant. But the Versailles Treaty created as many problems as it solved, since it actually represented the interests of only a few countries. In some ways, the UN has not completely changed this situation. It has had many notable successes, but plenty of failures as well. Some of the more major events are shown in the slides below.

Israel Statehood The General Assembly voted to partition British-ruled Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the founding of Israel, in 1947.   Korea North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. The Security Council responded with a call to all nations to come to the aid of South Korea, and The Korean War followed.   Suez Canal To prevent the Suez Canal from being nationalized, Great Britain, Israel, and France invaded Egypt in 1956. U.S. pressure in the UN ultimately forced the invading armies to withdraw from Egypt.   All Roads Lead to Rome The Cambodian genocide began in 1975. In four years, 1.7 million people (21% of that country’s population) were killed. The UN did not intervene.   Iraq War Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The UN Security Council subsequently authorized the use of force to expel the occupying force. The United States responded by leading Operation Desert Storm and liberating Kuwait.   Rwanda Although UN troops were nearby, the Rwandan genocide began in April of 1994. Eight hundred thousand people were killed in 100 days. A later inquiry blamed the UN for failing to act.