In contrast to the common perception that the United Nations is, or should become, a system of collective security, this paper advances the proposition that the UN Security Council embodies a necessarily selective approach. Analysis of its record since 1945 suggests that the Council cannot address all security threats effectively. The reasons for this include not only the veto power of the five permanent members, but also the selectivity of all UN member states: their unwillingness to provide forces for peacekeeping or other purposes except on a case-by-case basis, and their reluctance to involve the Council in certain conflicts to which they are parties, or which they perceive as distant, complex and resistant to outside involvement. The Council’s selectivity is generally seen as a problem, even a threat to its legitimacy. Yet selectivity, which is rooted in prudence and in the UN Charter itself, has some virtues. Acknowledging the necessary limitations within which the Security Council operates, this paper evaluates the Council’s achievements in tackling the problem of war since 1945. In doing so, it sheds light on the division of labour among the Council, regional security bodies and states, and offers a pioneering contribution to public and governmental understanding of the UN’s past, present and future roles. In expounding the main arguments in the Adelphi Paper, the speakers will touch on proposals for a Union of Democracies, and on other international security issues that have arisen in the US Presidential campaign.
Adam Roberts is President-Elect of the British Academy, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of International Relations, Oxford University, and Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.
Dominik Zaum is a lecturer in international relations at the University of Reading. He was previously a research fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Lord Hannay was UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1985-1990 and to the United Nations from 1990–1995. He was British Government Special Representative for Cyprus from 1996-2003 and a member of Kofi Annan's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. Since January 2006, he has been Chair of the Board of the United Nations Association of the UK.
This meeting will be Chaired by Dr Dana Allin, Senior Fellow of the IISS, and will take place in
The Lee Kuan Yew Conference Room on the Fifth Floor at Arundel House.
RSVP: Rebecca Fishley
E-mail: fishley@iiss.org
Tel: 020 7395 9169
Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3DX
