‘We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ is the opening statement of the Charter of the United Nations. This was, and undoubtedly still is, the primary purpose of the world organization. Whilst the means by which to achieve this fundamental purpose are complex and have widened since 1945, the Security Council, having primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and being the sole organ with the authority to adopt generally binding decisions to achieve this purpose, remains the preeminent organ of the UN in this context. However, as has been well documented, the practice of the Council has been inconsistent and the functioning and powers of the organ, whilst not necessarily weaker, have certainly operated differently from that envisaged within the framework of the UN Charter. In this light, The United Nations Security Council and War is a contribution to existing literature. Indeed, the book, which emanates from a project undertaken at the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War during 2004–2005, has as its aim to ‘describe and evaluate the UN Security Council's part in addressing—and sometimes failing to address—the problem of war, both civil and international, in the years since 1945’ (p 1).

There are two immediately apparent features that distinguish this book from others in the field. The first of these is the breadth and scope of Council practice covered which is represented in the 28 chapters of which the book is comprised. After an editorial introduction, the chapters are divided up into four parts addressing the framework of the Council, its roles, an extensive series of case studies, and the Council in the context of the changing character of war. In covering such a broad topic it was reassuring to see seven appendices (totalling 100 pages) providing the reader with relevant supporting statistical information. This establishes the work as a resource for those interested in this topic.

The second feature of the book which also sets it apart is the bringing together of such distinguished scholars and practitioners with knowledge, expertise, and experience in the fields of history, international law and international relations broadly defined. Emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the project is the inclusion of chapters from notable diplomats and those with relevant military experience. This adds greater clarity and perspective to the Council's involvement, or lack of involvement, in incidences of war since 1945, and when the volume is viewed in its entirety an illuminating, if sometimes a somewhat depressingly realistic, picture is painted of the Council's functioning and success in preventing and halting wars. Nevertheless, the discernable central theme throughout the book, as summarized by Edward Luck in Chapter 2, is that despite this assessment ‘the Council remains a place of hope, a place to do some serious business, and a place few member States would do without, reform or no reform’ (p 85). In this sense the Council is viewed as a system of cooperation offering a forum for States to meet, set out their views and attempt to resolve issues and threats as opposed to a pure collective security system simply providing a military response as and when necessary.

However, a slightly regrettable omission from the book is any extensive discussion on the legal nature of Security Council resolutions, and in particular such resolutions requesting a ceasefire, which, given the book's title and focus, are of central importance. Although ceasefire resolutions are, unsurprisingly, mentioned in almost every chapter, Chapter 1, which offers an introduction to the Council as a body and its Charter-based powers, simply notes that ‘Remarkably, Article 25 of the Charter, like some articles in Chapter VII, specifies that UN members accept an obligation to do the Security Council's bidding’ (p 5). Even taking into account that the ‘book is based on the proposition that the actual practice of the Security Council is richer, more complex, and more paradoxical than can be captured by any single prescriptive document or theory’ (p 2), this failure to establish a framework for determining the legal nature of Security Council resolutions leads to confusion of both a categorical and terminological nature in subsequent chapters. For example, Peter Carey in Chapter 15 confidently states that ‘It is generally agreed that Chapter VII resolutions are binding’ (p 350) without stating between whom there is agreement on this issue or the reason why it is only Chapter VII resolutions that are legally binding. Article 25 does not restrict itself in this way and this proposition is not stated anywhere else in the Charter.

Furthermore, the nuances of the terminology employed in Security Council ceasefire resolutions are insufficiently highlighted. This leads to, for example, Charles Tripp in Chapter 16 stating that Resolution 598 (1987) only, again, ‘called for’ a ceasefire, whilst it actually, and significantly in light of previous resolutions adopted in the context of the Iran-Iraq war, ‘demanded’ one. If one accepts the thesis, as many do, that it is the language employed in resolutions that determines their legally binding nature, this becomes significant. Given, for example, the clear refusal by both Israel and Hamas to adhere to the Council's ‘call for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire’ in Resolution 1860 (2009) in the face of some within the Council claiming that this was a legally binding decision, the legal nature of Security Council ceasefire resolutions is no doubt an area of interest to those picking up the book at this moment in time and where it could have made a significant contribution.

Nevertheless, on the whole the book not only achieves its aims but represents a definitive interdisciplinary work on an important subject. Whilst its central theme reveals the stark limitations of the Security Council it also highlights what the body can achieve and what one can realistically hope for from it. The depth of knowledge and experience provides fascinating and essential reading for anyone interested in the area of international peace and security, regardless of their disciplinary background and whether practitioner or academic.