Abstract

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has experienced significant changes since the end of the Cold War. The article surveys key shifts in UNSC attitudes, mandates and activities between 1987 and 1997, nearly all of which stem from the twin phenomena of greater cooperation among the Permanent Five members (P-5) of the Council and of the Council's growing focus on civil wars and intercommunal strife which has launched the Council into new and largely untested waters. It argues that Council decisions since 1987 have profound significance for, and have enhanced the Council's role in, international relations despite several spectacular setbacks, notably in Bosnia and in Somalia. These decisions have eroded and redefined the concept of sovereignty.