ABSTRACT
Principles tend to outlast opportunities and convenience. This chapter begins by tracing the rebirth of an international organization: the reassertion of earlier purposes and principles and the encoding of new ones. A discussion of the main principles of the UN Charter follows. Major principles of collective security, regionalism, trusteeship and law are briefly explained, as is the UN’s essential purpose of putting principles into practice. The chapter ends by reviewing a number of modern developments that direct a searchlight at the UN’s original purpose and founding principles.
