LEVI, WERNER. Fundamentals of World Organization. Pp. ix, 233. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1950. $3.00
| Author | Henry R. Winkler |
| Published date | 01 March 1951 |
| Date | 01 March 1951 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/000271625127400136 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
213
his
optimism
depend
greatly
on
the
ra-
tionality
and
effectiveness
of
our
policy-
making
process?
RICHARD
C.
SNYDER
Princeton
University
LEVI,
WERNER.
Fundamentals
of
World
Organization.
Pp.
ix,
233.
Minneapolis:
The
University
of
Minnesota
Press,
1950.
$3.00.
An
analysis
of
the
problem
of
inter-
national
organization
that
does
not
lose
it-
self
among
the
minutiae
of
structural
de-
tails
is
always
a
refreshing
contribution
to
the
literature.
In
this
useful
volume,
Pro-
fessor
Levi
has
attempted
to
generalize
about
some
of
the
human
foundations
upon
which
any
international
structure
must
basically
rest.
Such
a
project,
quite
clearly,
might
easily
lend
itself
to
a
lugubrious
parade
of
all
the
commonly
accepted
ob-
stacles
to
a
really
effective
world
organiza-
tion.
Those
obstacles-nationalism,
dif-
ferences
in
living
standards,
cultural
diver-
sity-are
so
obvious
that
their
constant
reiteration
serves
very
little
purpose,
ex-
cept
perhaps
as
a
brake
on
the
optimism
which
is,
in
any
case,
rapidly
disappearnig
among
advocates
of
world
government.
Levi
is
of
course
fully
aware
of
the
deter-
rents
in
the
way
of
genuine
international
co-operation.
At
the
same
time
he
has
the
good
sense
to
understand
the
currents,
feeble
as
they
may
seem
to
some
observers,
running
in
the
other
direction.
The
result
is
a
thoroughly
competent
and
temperate
discussion
of
the
centrifugal
and
centripetal
tendencies
affecting
the
design
of
world
order
at
the
present
time.
Levi’s
technique
is
to
survey
the
essen-
tials
required
for
adequate
international
or-
ganization
and
then
to
examine
where
we
stand
in
terms
of
those
essentials.
A
first
chapter
on
&dquo;The
Anatomy
of
Organization&dquo;
includes
an
analysis
of
the
degree
to
which
a
genuine
atmospheres
of
&dquo;community&dquo;
is
to
be
found
among
the
peoples
of
the
world.
The
data
are
not
encouragaing,
even
though
one
may
agree
that
the
prin-
ciple
of
social
co-operation
has
advanced
sufficiently
in
recent
decades
to
offer
some
hope
for
eventual
&dquo;common-mindedness&dquo;
with
respect
to
the
purposes
of
interna-
tional
organization.
Succeeding
chapters
concern
themselves
with
the
international
organization
of
politics,
economics,
welfare,
and
cultural
affairs.
Here
the
general
analysis
is
tied
in
closely
with
an
investiga-
tion
of
the
various
components
of
the
United
Nations
and
their
effectiveness
as
international
institutions.
A
final
section
is
devoted
to
the
author’s
summary
of
the
lessons
he
draws
from
his
analysis.
Students
of
international
organization
will
find
that
this
volume
repays
their
at-
tention.
While
it
contains
little
that
is
new,
it
is
a
compact
digest
of
materials
from
all
of
the
social
sciences
bearing
on
the
crucial
question
of
what
is
necessary
for
viable
international
organization.
Levi
is
generally
convincing
in
his
demonstra-
tion,
based
on
these
materials,
that
sub-
stantial
progress
has
been
made,
and
that
more
can
be
expected,
in
the
humdrum
economic,
social,
and
cultural
areas
of
in-
ternational
relations.
He
is
equally
con-
vincing
in
his
exegesis
of
the
political
dif-
ficulties
that
stand
in
the
way
of
real
co-operation
and mutual
aid.
Since
he
is
a
man
of
good
will
he
realizes
that
it is
imperative
that
those
difficulties
be
over-
come
sooner
or
later,
but
as
a
responsible
scholar
he
has
no
illusions
about
their
gravity.
This
is
a
thoughtful
book
and
one
may
hope
at
least
that
it
will
be
thought-
provoking
as
well.
HENRY
R.
WINKLER
Rutgers
University
KELSEN,
HANS.
The
Law
of
the
United
Nations.
Pp.
xvii,
903.
New
York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger
Inc.,
Published
un-
der
the
auspices
of
The
London
Institute
of
World
Affairs,
1950.
$18.75.
In
1939,
Professor
Kelsen
wrote
a
textual
critique
of
the
League
of
Nations
Covenant,
to
serve
as
an
example
demonstrating
the
&dquo;legal
technique&dquo;
in
international
law.
Now
he
applies
the
same
technique
to
the
United
Nations
Charter.
His
immediate
intention
is
to
give
a
close
reading
to
the
text,
not
in
order
to
find
the
&dquo;true,&dquo;
or
the
&dquo;authentic,&dquo;
meaning,
but
to
set
forth
all
the
possible
interpretations
of
which
the
verbal
terms
of
the
Charter
admit.
His
s
ultimate
purpose
is
a
pedagogical
one:
to
impress
present
and
future
lawmakers
with
the
idea
that
the
legal
technique
is
a
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