Thirty-nine papers seek to present a comprehensive picture of the history and politics of the United Nations Security Council by "slicing and dicing in many different ways the Council's decisions and its activities," in the words of editor Malone (president, International Peace Academy). Written by academics and a number of people involved with the Council in various ways, the papers examine questions of factors in decision making that emerged after the Cold War, the increasing use of the UN Charter's Chapter VII for enforcing sanctions, institutional factors affecting the Council such as the role of NGOs or pressures for Council reform. Final papers synthesize the preceding material and draw conclusions about the relationship of the Council to international law and the likely future of the institution. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)