17119. THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE SUPERPOWERS: BEFORE AND AFTER THE COLD WAR. This paper analyzes United Nations’ behavior under the Superpowers (the U.S. and the U.S.S.R./Russia), comparing and contrasting United Nations-Superpower relations during the Cold War and in the post-Cold War era. The analysis begins with a brief background discussion on the history, structure and function of the United Nations (UN). Focusing primary on the Security Council as the nexus of UN-Superpower relations, the next sections examine UN behavior during the bipolar era of the Cold War and during the post-Cold War era after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A final section draws on the preceding analysis to consider whether or not the UN needs superpowers to implement its Charter. KEYWORDS: superpowers international power relations united nations us international organizations ussr cold war russia america. Written 2003. MLA Style. 21 pages, 81 footnotes, 30 bibliographic sources. 6,632 words.