2020 Edition

H2 History Guide
United Nations
General Assembly
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L-7 Grade Model Essay

01 How effective was the United Nations General Assembly in maintaining

peace and security in the stipulated time period from 1945 to 2000?

Core facts that you need to know

02 Cold War and post-Cold War era

Strategies for this topic

03 Structuring the essay

Recommended examples to use
Elements you should incorporate

Content

04 The
The
The
The
General
General
General
General
Assembly
Assembly
Assembly
Assembly
from 1945 to the late 1950s
from the 1950s to the 1980s
in the 1980s
from the 1980s to 2000
Question that need to be prepared for

05 Tiers of questions arranged by priority

Conten
ts

Content
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Overarching question:

- How effective was the UN General Assembly in helping the UN maintain international
peace and security across different contexts and over time?
Analysis of thethat
Topics H2you
History syllabus
must know inside document.
out: Click here to view it

- Main deliberative organ of the UN and carries moral weight of the international
community
- Represented by all member-states, non-binding resolutions; Uniting for Peace Resolution
in circumstances where the Security Council is unable to act
- Changes in composition of the General Assembly over time, and its implications on the
UN effectiveness

Learning outcomes that you need to master:

- You must be able to recall the functions and power of the UN General Assembly
- You must be able to identify the milestones in its development since 1945
- You must be able to evaluate the effectiveness the General Assembly in meeting their
mooted responsibilities

Readings from the world’s leading historians that will make you stand out:

Adam Roberts and Benedict Kingsbury, United Nations, Divided World: The UN’s Roles in
International Relations, Oxford University Press, 1994

Amy Janello and Brennon Jones, A Global Affair: An Insider Look at the United Nations. Jones,
and Janello, 1995

Evan Luard and Derek Heater, The United Nations: How It Works and What It Does
Palgrave Macmillan, 1994

Peter R Baehr and Leon Gordenker, The United Nations at the end of the 1990s
Palgrave Macmillan, 1999

Additional informative readings you can read:

Robert F Gorman Great Debates at the United Nations: An Encyclopaedia of Fifty Key Issues,
1945–2000, Greenwood Press, 2001

Karen A Mingst and Margaret P Karns, The United Nations in the 21st Century (Dilemmas in
World Politics), Westview Press, 2011
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General Assembly

Rise in power from 1945 to the late 1950s............................................................................11

Stagnation during the late 1950s to the early 1980s............................................................13
Side-lining and revival of the General Assembly from the early 1980s-2000...................14

To fully benefit from these notes, it is important to pay close attention

to the evaluative points and explanations made, which have been
bolded. Pay close attention to the bolded interpretations of events,
arguments and conclusions – it often leads you in a certain direction.
Key examples have been underlined. In addition to this, when you see
highlighted words in yellow, those are synonyms to the words they
come after. It is important to continually improve your vocabulary.

If you want to read the full guide, head to https://www.h2historyguides.com/