united nations
(n.) After the first world war, the countries on both sides decided to band toghether to stop such a thing happening again with the "League fo Nations". However, the L.O.N. had no armed forces and when Adolf Hitler withdrew from in in the thirties, the weakness of this "Talking shop" showed through. Disbanded at the end of world war two, it gave way to the "United Nations", where member countries' influence on world events was measured by thier contribution. The contribution is generally based on the GDP of each member country, although the united states and to a lesser extent the united kingdom pay disproportionately more than other members for the upkeep, and also provide more troops.


To prevent world crises' in the future, the UN democratically votes to decide whether it should allow a country to sort out its' own problems or if they should choose to help a side. Being by far the largest group on contributors, the G8 nations choose to help the most western-friendly side in each struggle.


However, certain amounts of ignorance to eachothers' ideas and division of peoples based on economic wants has lead to the UN having trouble maintaining itself as of late. That, combined with the actions taken without consent of the United nations council by the US and her allies has lead to speculation that the UN is heading the way Hitler thrust its predecessor, the League of Nations, and that it has been becoming another talking shop since the fall of the USSR and the end of the communist threat.
Many people think that the United nations is a puppet, and has no real value to the world without a large, common enemy to unite the people.