Security Council

Abstract

This chapter provides a history of the Security Council from 1945 until today. The authors argue that the common division into a Cold War period, during which the Council was largely paralyzed, and a post-Cold War one, during which it has emerged as a central actor in international conflict management, obscures important changes since the end of the Cold War. Most occur in the twenty-first century and include a resurgence in peacekeeping, a growing thematic agenda, a preoccupation with terrorism and other transnational threats, and increasing attention to civilian protection. The Council has also seen a return of great power tensions, manifest by P-5 differences over Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. However, the biggest division does not run among the P-5 but the ten elected members that struggle to leave a mark in Council decision-making. Reform is essential.

A Liberal Peace?: The Growth of Liberal Norms and the Decline of Interstate Violence

“…5.Einsiedel and Malone note that: “Because of the need to reach a consensus among the P-5 ‘vetocracy’ for any decision, the permanent members tend to negotiate draft resolutions among themselves before submitting them to the full body for discussion. And before a draft is negotiated by all of the P-5, it has generally been discussed by the P-3 [the United States, Britain and France], which generate the vast majority of initiatives” (2018, 158).…”

The COVID-19 test of the United Nations Security Council

“…According to Einsiedel and Malone, UNMEER was "a testament to the focused, high-intensity leadership of the United States." 15 The UNSC response to the 2014 Ebola crisis provides a stark contrast to the case of COVID-19. And yet, early and clear warnings were also ignored until Ebola threatened the stability of the affected countries and cases showed up in the United States.…”

Power and Diplomacy in the United Nations Security Council: The Influence of Elected Members

“…Comprehensive analyses of the Security Council were conducted by Ian Martin (2018; and Sebastian von Einsiedel and David Malone (2018). In this context, they point out numerous impediments hindering the activity of the E10 in the Council, such as the brevity of the term, the burden stemming from chairing subsidiary bodies, the increased amount of work, as well as unfavourable working methods, including the penholdership system (see below).…”

“…One of the principal impediments to the effectiveness of the elected members in the Council appears to be the brevity of the two-year tenure, which is in stark contrast with the permanence of the P5's membership (Martin 2020;Paul 2017). Accordingly, permanent members benefit profoundly not only from the veto power but also from having uninterrupted institutional memory, which is crucial when it comes to mastering the Council procedures (von Einsiedel and Malone 2018). In this sense, the very fact that the P5 have been serving in the Council since its establishment obviously works in their favour.…”