The legitimacy of the UN Security Council: evidence from recent General Assembly debates

Existing research on the legitimacy of the UN Security Council is conceptual or theoretical, for the most part, as scholars tend to make legitimacy assessments with reference to objective standards. Whether UN member states perceive the Security Council as legitimate or illegitimate has yet to be investigated systematically; nor do we know whether states care primarily about the Council's compliance with its legal mandate, its procedures, or its effectiveness. To address this gap, our article analyzes evaluative statements made by states in UN General Assembly debates on the Security Council, for the period 1991–2009. In making such statements, states confer legitimacy on the Council or withhold legitimacy from it. We conclude the following: First, the Security Council suffers from a legitimacy deficit because negative evaluations of the Council by UN member states far outweigh positive ones. Nevertheless, the Council does not find itself in an intractable legitimacy crisis because it still enjoys a rudimentary degree of legitimacy. Second, the Council's legitimacy deficit results primarily from states' concerns regarding the body's procedural shortcomings. Misgivings as regards shortcomings in performance rank second. Whether or not the Council complies with its legal mandate has failed to attract much attention at all.

From Pettson and Findus to Festus and Mercury...and Back Again: A Comparison of Four Translations of Sven Nordqvist's Picture Books

In order to examine how children's literature might be translated, two different English translations of two Swedish picture books have been analyzed. The original Swedish books are Rävjakten and Pannkakstårtan by Sven Nordqvist. Rävjakten was translated as The Fox Hunt in 1988 and as The Fox Hunt in 2000. Pannkakstårtan was translated as Pancake Pie in 1985 and as The Birthday Cake in 1999. Literary translation in general, specific translation issues for children's literature, and trends in international English style have been considered. Analysis of the four texts has been made, with consideration given to the following areas: changes in illustrations, layout, or format; text changes; lexical choices; and retention, deletion, or modification of names and culturally specific references. The analysis revealed that the following tendencies were true for the later translations: foreignization of the text, word-for-word translation of the text, and a neutral international English variety.

Resoluciones aprobadas por el Consejo Económico y Social (47, 48 y 49 períodos de sesiones) y por la Asamblea General (24 y 25 períodos de sesiones) = Resolutions adopted by the Economic and Social Council (47, 48 and 49 sessions) and by the General Assembly (24 and 25 session)

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Nota de la Secretaría sobre la recomendación de la Asamblea General para modificar el nombre de la Comisión = Note by the Secretariat on the General Assembly's recommendation regarding the renaming of the Commission

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Recopilación de resoluciones relacionadas con la Estrategia Internacional del Desarrollo y el Nuevo Orden Económico Internacional aprobadas por la Asamblea General y el Consejo Económico y Social de las NU, CEPAL y CDCC = Collected resolutions on the International Development Strategy and the New International Economic Order adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and Economic and Social Council, the CEPAL and the CDCC

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Resoluciones y decisiones de la CEPAL y sus organismos subsidiarios que traen consecuencias para el CDCC = Action taken on CDCC resolutions and those of ECLAC, ECOSOC and the United Nations General Assembly with implications for CDCC = Actions relatives aux résolutions du CDCC et a celles de la CEPALC, du Conseil Economique et Social et de l'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies ayant des incidences sur le CDCC

Revisa las acciones tomadas en relacion con las resoluciones del CDCC y aquellas de la CEPAL, Consejo Economico y Social y Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas con implicancias para el CDCC.

Action taken on CDCC resolutions and resolutions of ECLAC and other United Nations bodies with implications for CDCC: resolutions and decisions of ECLAC, ECOSOC and the UN General Assembly with implications for CDCC

Revisa las acciones tomadas en relacion con las resoluciones del CDCC y aquellas de la CEPAL, ECOSOC y Asamblea General, con implicancias para el CDCC.