ABSTRACT
Traditionally, the issue of security has centered on the security of the stateand the perennial problem of war. War has ended the lives of hundredsof millions of people and left once thriving societies in ruins. With respect to the central issue of international security, then, it is legitimate to ask how and why international organizations respond to war and threats of war. Can international organizations prevent war? If so, how? And how do international organizations identify international aggression, diplomatically referred to as “breaches of the peace” or “threats to international peace and security”? The causes of war are numerous and intertwined. Societies fight for tangible reasons-territory and resources. They also fight for intangible reasonsideology, nationalism, and religion. Yet the solutions to war are few and frustratingly elusive. A true balance of power might deter aggression; but if history is any indicator, a straight balance-of-power approach is flawed and prone to failure.
