This book combines primary materials with expert commentary, demonstrating the interaction between law and practice in the UN organization, as well as the possibilities and limitations of multilateral institutions in general. Each chapter begins with a short introductory essay by the authors that describes how the documents that follow illustrate a set of legal, institutional, and political issues relevant to the practice of diplomacy and the development of public international law through the United Nations. This second edition updates the materials in the first edition and introduces new features that reflect a changing global landscape. An additional feature is the inclusion of hypothetical fact scenarios to test the understanding of concepts in each chapter. This edition contains more author commentary with the usual emphasis on primary materials. Such materials enable a realistic presentation of the work of international diplomacy; the negotiation, interpretation, and application of such texts is an important part of what actually takes place at the United Nations and other international organizations.