Fires All around the Horizon: The U.N.'s Uphill Battle to Preserve the Peace by Max HarrelsonReview by: John C. CampbellForeign Affairs, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), p. 163Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20044016 .

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RECENT BOOKS ON INTERNATIONAL

RELATIONS

Edited by Lucy Edwards Despard

General: Political and Legal

fohn C. Campbell A STRATEGY FOR PEACE: HUMAN VALUES AND THE THREAT OF WAR. By Sissela Bok. New York: Pantheon, 1989, 202 pp. $17.95.

The danger of man's self-extermination has long been apparent, as has the question of whether the balance of power, or deterrence, or arms control agreements offer adequate protection against it. Sissela Bok looks to increased concern for human values that will serve the cause of peace, but more than that, she calls for and describes practical measures that will reduce distrust and constitute a comprehensive strategy for peace. Her book is no sentimental "peacenik" appeal but a reasoned case for resolution, dedication and action by governments and individuals. It is grounded in Kant's Perpetual Peace, but finds guidance for effective strategy in many other sources, even in Clausewitz's On War, Can this book be useful to

today's political leaders and to the average citizen? In some respects it is

Utopian, and readers may dismiss it as such, but they would be well advised to read it again.

FIRES ALL AROUND THE HORIZON: THE U.N.'S UPHILL BAT TLE TO PRESERVE THE PEACE. By Max Harrelson. New York: Prae

ger, 1989, 279 pp. A running account of the main political-security issues that came before

the United Nations during its first 40 years, by a well-informed correspon dent who covered the world organization for the Associated Press. The book serves as a general introduction or survey, giving the salient facts in each case and showing how the U.N. was or was not used, but it sacrifices

depth for breadth. Although he is clear on the point that the organization cannot act to keep the peace except as its key members and the restrictions of the U.N. Charter permit, the author does not tarry anywhere to explore its strengths and weaknesses or to consider how it may be made more effective in the future.

COALITION STRATEGIES OF MARXIST PARTIES. Edited by Trond Gilberg. Durham (N.C.): Duke University Press, 1989, 379 pp. $52.50.

The topic is one of almost unlimited scope, given the time span (since Marx) and the number of countries where communist parties have been active. Some important countries are omitted (e.g., China, Japan, several

Middle East states) and some get less than adequate treatment (e.g., Ger

many, Italy, South Africa, Mexico), but in general the coverage is thorough and competent. In some ways the chosen theme of "coalition strategy" merely means packaging familiar material on communist party history in a different way, yet it provides a useful means of comparison and of reaching conclusions on Soviet policy. The emphasis throughout the book on nation alism and its impact on communist strategy is very much to the point.

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