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And here’s your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by

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sending peacekeepers to conflict areas...

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I wonder if they’re free for our next Thanksgiving dinner.

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Okay, here’s our question: The UN is the premier international organization

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and can do all of the following except what?

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And here are potential answers:

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All right, well, the United Nations was established in 1945 after World War II

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in an effort to prevent future conflicts.

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It replaced the largely ineffective League of Nations, not to be confused

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with the extremely effective Justice League.

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Heck, if someone had had the foresight to put the Justice League in charge,

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we wouldn’t have even had to have World War II.

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So, could our answer be A: "levy economic sanctions on countries”?

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Well, remember, we’re looking for something the UN can’t do,

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and levying economic sanctions against countries that step out of line?

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Well, it's actually one of their favorite things to do.

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That, and play really mean pranks on people… sneaky UN.

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Anyway, that whole “levy economic sanctions” thing

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is a good way to punish countries that violate human rights

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or act too aggressively without actually sending in troops.

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It’s basically like your mom cutting off your allowance when you get in trouble,

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only it's on a global scale here.

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Well, A is not our answer. What about B: “send peacekeepers to conflict areas”?

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Well, this is actually something else the UN does on a regular basis.

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Those soldiers you see on the news with blue helmets?

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Yeah, those are peacekeepers,

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and they’re sent to different parts of the world

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in order to create strife and mayhem.

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Just kidding…

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They actually keep the peace in war-torn areas that need some help

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stabilizing and getting back to normal, like—

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anyway, we can get get rid of B.

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Next up to bat? C: “request military assistance in the form of troops

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and equipment from member states.” Well, those peacekeepers

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we just mentioned? They aren't actually part of a standing UN army.

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When the UN needs troops and supplies,

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it calls upon its member states to supply them.

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Then, they plop a blue helmet on their heads, and bam: peacekeepers.

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It’s like how you’ve got all those different clones and recruits,

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but once they put the helmet on, they’re all stormtroopers...

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Except, the UN and the Empire have very different mission statements.

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So we can cross off C… which brings us to E:

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“fund technology grants to any country.”

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You know why no one in your neighborhood it attempting to

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burn your crops and steal your possessions?

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Yeah, well, because everyone’s too busy playing Pokémon GO.

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Seriously, though, there’s a lot less to fight about when everyone has access

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to the resources they need to live happy lives.

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Improving access to technology plays a huge role in that,

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and that's why the UN funds tech grants to countries.

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So, our answer isn’t E, and that leaves us just with D:

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“legally bind members to intervene in genocide, ethnic cleansing,

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and crimes against humanity.” See, as much power as the UN wields,

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it still can’t force members to intervene in another country’s business,

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even if that business is truly despicable.

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You might keep your own room clean, but imagine if your parents

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then tried to force you to clean your sister’s room.

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Well, there’d probably be some backlash there, right? So, the correct answer is D.

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The UN are like the hall monitors of the world: They can get you in trouble,

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but they also rely on the teachers to step in and enforce their ruling.

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You know who wouldn’t require that extra step?

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Yeah, the Justice League… We messed up, guys.

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