The first purpose of the United Nations is "to maintain international peace and security." Among the chief methods employed to attain this end has been the condemnatory resolution, in which international outrage is expressed at the policies or actions of a given state. Here William W. Orbach undertakes to explore the nature of the United Nations and its role in international politics through an examination of the history of such resolutions, the reasons for condemnations, and the process by which they are enacted or rejected. He concludes that the United Nations is not an independent actor on the international stage but a microcosm of that stage, as such in a unique position to further international peace.