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AbstractThis article analyses the UN Security Council’s Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism (P/CVE) as a Foucauldian dispositif of liberal government. Centred on early-detection, P/CVE tasks civil society with the prevention of extremism at a social level. In this sense, as the article illustrates, P/CVE displays features of liberal governmentality as it relies on civil society’s liberty and self-regulation mechanisms. Furthermore, as the article shows, P/CVE also works as a liberal mechanism of subjectification as it sketches the ‘(undesirable) extremists’ and the ‘(desirable) moderates’. These subjectivities emerge at the intersection of various global power structures (re)assembled by the same dispositif. Therefore, analysing P/CVE as a Foucauldian dispositif of liberal government allows us to grasp how power circulates in society in heterarchical, subtle ways. Moreover, it also uncovers how liberal government works through the (re)production of hierarchical, racialised, and gendered social structures in its differentiations of the (governed) freedom produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, a year before the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted two more resolutions – UNSCRs 2467 and 2493 – under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) thematic agenda. The WPS agenda is considered revolutionary for bringing women's rights and security into the UNSC; however, it also reflects the precariousness of the alliance between feminist activists and the UNSC. During the drafting of UNSCRs 2467 and 2493, the United States (US), Russia, and China – all permanent members of the UNSC – objected to the inclusion of certain language in the final texts. The US pushed for the deletion of language on sexual and reproductive health from UNSCR 2467, while Russia and China challenged the definition of women human rights defenders in UNSCR 2493. These objections epitomize and contribute to the global pushback on women's rights and security, which foregrounds concerns that the UNSC and feminist activists make for "strange bedfellows." In this article, we consider whether the UNSC has been used as a forum to damage women's rights and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the circumstances under which the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adjust peace operations mandates to safeguard civilians during mass atrocities. Peacekeepers are usually deployed where civilians face threats from rebels and/or government forces. The literature shows that, with adequate numbers, peacekeepers effectively protect human lives. Additionally, the norms of Protection of Civilians (PoC) and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) create expectations that missions will be adjusted to protect individuals at grave risk. The paper evaluates cases where PKO were active during the occurrence of targeted mass killings (TMK), covering the years from 2006 to 2017. Using a qualitative mixed-methods approach, this study relies on the TMK dataset from the Australian National University and the Peacekeeping Mandates (PEMA) database to compare the timelines of PKO and spot whether mandates were changed after mass atrocities with new tasks to protect civilians. The paper also briefly assesses the case of South Sudan to evaluate the congruence between mass atrocity triggers and mandate adjustments. Our analysis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing the UNSC's decision-making process in adjusting peace operation mandates to protect civilians during mass atrocities and its limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, the protection of civilians has increased its weight on the United Nations (UN) agenda. This article (1) maps the evolution of civilian protection within the UN framework as an indicator of its shifting priorities, (2) identifies breakpoints in the prevalence and character of the protection discourse, and (3) explores how internal processes of policy development and real-world triggers (namely conflicts and peacekeeping operations) shaped this transformation. The article uses Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to analyze an original corpus of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on complex humanitarian emergencies since 1990. The analysis uncovers two distinct forms of protection, labeled as "Ground protection" and "Political–legal protection," which are characterized by contrasting temporal and geographic trajectories. Moreover, critical junctures in the protection rhetoric (during the years 2000, 2005, and 2008) coincide with policy watersheds rather than conflict outbreaks or trends in peacekeeping deployment. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the intricate evolution of civilian protection using text-as-data methods, which uses its theory-building design to encourage further explorations on the interplay between internal and external factors in shaping its progression within the UN framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a Special Issue on the Protection of Civilians (PoC) efforts in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1265 in February 1999, laying the basis for PoC becoming a fundamental part of UN peacekeeping. On the 25th anniversary of this resolution, it's time to reflect on the various advances, achievements and challenges facing the UN's PoC agenda. This introduction to the Special Issue outlines the UN's three-tiered PoC approach: dialogue and engagement, physical protection, and creating a protective environment. Building on this foundation, the Special Issue explores diverse topics, including pre-deployment training, unarmed peacekeeping, host-state consent, military and police roles in protection, the use of force by troops, civilian protection sites in South Sudan, and the unintended effects of peacekeeping missions. Each article contributes insights across the three PoC tiers bringing together cutting edge insights from leading academics and practitioners in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than two decades, the United Nations Security Council has tasked Blue Helmets to use all necessary means – including lethal force – to protect civilians from violence. Despite policymakers' emphasis on reducing threats to civilians, we remain ignorant of the conditions leading to successful outcomes when force is used to protect. Introducing four promising causal conditions, this article employs a new dataset capturing military protection operations across 10 UN missions in Africa from 1999 to 2017 to explore combinations of necessary and sufficient conditions for successful protection outcomes, finding promising recipes for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact the war in Ukraine has had on Russia's great power status. Post-Soviet Russia has been one of the most active status-seekers and sought to re-establish its rank among the existing great power status community. In its claim to high status, Russia has historically relied on traditional status markers, including its permanent seat at the UN Security Council, diplomatic prominence at the summits with other great powers, and the strength of its military. However, as this paper shows, Moscow's fateful choice to launch a war against Ukraine has led to considerable slippage of its status. Russia now struggles to get things done at international fora and has also faced increased diplomatic isolation. Moreover, the war – especially the struggles of the Russian armed forces – challenged Russia's claim of great military power and an exclusive security provider in the former Soviet space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000, The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 actively promoted the inclusion of women and their perspectives in peace processes, as well as promoted a gender perspective in post-conflict recovery and institution building. The number of gender provisions in civil war peace agreements has increased since 2001 as a result, but not all such provisions serve the same purpose. In this study, we present a provision typology that divides gender provisions into those that seek to empower women and compare them to those that address conflict victimization. We suggest that the context under which the peace agreement takes place, and conditions of the conflict itself, should influence where empowerment and victimization provisions are employed if they are to have the type of impact sought by the UNSC and improve post-conflict outcomes. We test our propositions on all civil war peace agreements occurring between 1990-2018. Findings indicate that gender provisions designed to empower women are unlikely to emerge in societies where they are perhaps most needed. Comparatively, it appears there is less resistance to gender provisions aimed at addressing conflict-related victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has created disputes between the Nile River's lower and upper riparian zones in North Africa. Ethiopia sees the GERD as a project to prosper, while Egypt considers that it will imperil the country's economy. After the African Union (AU) failed to resolve the disputes over GERD, the matter reached to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which, after discussions, stated that the matter should be resolved at the regional level. This paper examines the theoretical and conceptual aspects of transboundary river waters and why riparian states shy away from cooperative arrangements. The paper then discusses the history of water disputes in the Nile Basin region and analyses the history of water distribution and projects in North and eastern Africa. Finally, the paper analyses the role of other countries, the AU, and the UNSC in disputes over the GERD project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the evolution and interplay of national policies and international diplomacy on cyber terrorism within and across the UNSC's permanent five members and the UN process on cyber norms (GGE and OEWG). First, it reveals how - through the extension of preemptive measures to low-impact cyber activities and online content - national policies progressively articulate cyber terrorism as an issue of information security. Second, it problematizes how -through the adoption of comprehensive and imprecise definitions - the diplomatic language on cyber terrorism might lend international support to those authoritarian regimes keen on leveraging counter-terrorism to persecute domestic oppositions and vulnerable groups. Third, it concludes that - with UN diplomatic efforts increasingly discussing countering (dis)information operations - combining normative debates on cyber terrorism with those on information security requires precision of language to safeguard human rights globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a textual analysis of areas of convergence and divergence between the United Nations (UN) Framework for the Immediate Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19 and the six National Action Plans (NAPs) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) of the Arab States region. The article contributes to debates on the centering or sidelining of gender analysis and planning in crisis response to the nexus between COVID-19 and gender, peace, and security. Gender and gender planning inform the textual analysis, which shows that there are significant areas of overlap between the UN COVID-19 Framework and the NAPs. Divergences, such as the greater emphasis on economic recovery in the UN COVID-19 Framework, expose the gaps in engagement with the socio-economic and subsistence harms in the WPS agenda. Given the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and the expectation of future novel outbreaks, the article provides evidence that rather than sidelining gender in times of crisis, existing tools such as NAPs should be centered in planning responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, Samir Amin called for a 'new wave of revival and progress' which would replace the system of neoliberal globalisation which is to blame for leaving multiple, interlinked global crises. Five years after his death, this article aims to evaluate if his call has been heeded and how far the world is from a new wave of revival and progress. The article investigates the movement of 'progressive internationalism' - as a movement that opposes the perpetuation of the legacy of global imperlialism that has manifested in global power assymetry, producin structural inequality and poverty - as a possible response to Amin's request.. The core research question is: 'how far are we from realising Amin's vision'. To do this, the article will also explore initiatives of the progressive internationalist movement with reference to south-south cooperation thorough the BRICS bloc, structural reform of the international system and the United Nations Security Council, and Active Non-Alignment, among other nascent initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on regional powers and the UN Security Council (UNSC) has focused mainly on Council reform. Little research has been conducted on exploring the influence of regional powers at the Council. Have regional powers been able to extend their influence in 'upstream' processes like resolution drafting and narrowing the gap to the P5? Or do they operate like any other elected member? By applying a comprehensive taxonomy to measure influence we compare regional powers with permanent and elected members. A mixed picture emerges. While regional powers are identifiable as a distinct group of actors, their impact on Council operations is limited. We find that membership has an equalising effect, locking countries into existing institutional practices. The consequence of this is that they cannot easily convert their position as regional powers into institutional influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay adds to previous research of Putinism an investigation of the political thought and foreign outlooks of Russia's Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin, with a focus on their statements between 2006 to 2020. The paper outlines Patrushev's and Naryshkin's thoughts regarding the United States, Ukraine, and the idea of multipolarity/polycentrism. We then introduce Patrushev's critique of liberal values and color revolutions, and Naryshkin's statements on the memory of World War II and Western institutions. The salience of these altogether seven topics is interpreted with reference to three classical topoi in Russian political thought: the Slavophile vs. Westerners controversy, the single-stream theory, and the civilizational paradigm. Our conclusions inform the ongoing debate on whether to conceptualize Putinism as either an ideology or a mentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a deep dive into those factors in one specific case: The decision to reinforce the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. This case is a particularly useful case-study of the UN's utility as a framework for peacekeeping because – as we will show – a significant number of actors involved in negotiations around the mission initially assumed that UNIFIL would not survive for long after the war. While many actors in 2006 wanted to see the end of UNFIL, preserving it proved to be the only diplomatically feasible option. Hence, this article explains why UNIFIL avoided closure, and how the issue of the host state consent progressively shaped the negotiation in and outside the Security Council chamber to find a solution to end the conflict. This case-study approach also centres the importance of diplomacy – including but not only at the UN – and of finding the right balance in negotiations to the making of peace operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership comes with privileges. Existing research shows that the world's most powerful countries funnel financial favors to governments elected to the UNSC, arguably to influence their votes on matters of international importance. This study investigates whether these governments, whose election elevates them to prominent positions of power, also receive security benefits. We argue that elected UNSC members win the attention and protection of the world's super powers, and, as a result, are less likely to be attacked. But we further argue that the General Assembly and the world's super powers prefer pacific countries on the UNSC. In support of our theory, we find empirically that temporary membership on the UNSC is associated with lower rates of being targeted and lower rates of initiating conflict. We conclude that UNSC membership has existential benefits and is associated with a reduced likelihood of militarized disputes. La afiliación al Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas (CSNU) conlleva algunos privilegios. La investigación existente demuestra que los países más poderosos del mundo canalizan favores financieros a los gobiernos de los países que han sido elegidos para el CSNU, posiblemente con el fin de influenciar sus votos en asuntos de importancia internacional. Este estudio investiga si estos gobiernos, cuya elección los eleva a posiciones prominentes de poder, reciben también beneficios en materia de seguridad. Argumentamos que los miembros electos del CSNU reciben una mayor atención y protección por parte de las superpotencias mundiales y, como resultado, tienen menos probabilidades de ser atacados. Pero, además, argumentamos que la Asamblea General y las superpotencias mundiales prefieren la presencia de países pacíficos en el CSNU. Para apoyar nuestra teoría, constatamos de forma empírica que la afiliación temporal al CSNU se asocia con unas menores probabilidades de estar en el punto de mira y con unos menores índices en lo que se refiere a iniciar conflictos. Concluimos que la afiliación al CSNU conlleva beneficios existenciales y que está asociada con una menor probabilidad de participar en disputas militarizadas. L'appartenance au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies (CSNU) n'est pas sans avantages. Des travaux de recherche ont déjà montré que les pays les plus puissants du monde accordent des faveurs financières aux gouvernements élus au CSNU, supposément pour influencer leur vote sur des thématiques internationales importantes. Cette étude tente de déterminer si ces gouvernements, promus à de puissantes positions grâce à leur élection, reçoivent aussi des avantages en matière de sécurité. Nous affirmons que les membres élus du CSNU obtiennent l'attention et la protection des superpuissances mondiales et, par conséquent, ont moins de risques de faire l'objet d'une attaque. Toutefois, nous soutenons aussi que l'Assemblée générale et les superpuissances mondiales préfèrent voir des pays pacifistes au CSNU. Pour vérifier notre théorie, nous observons empiriquement qu'une appartenance temporaire au CSNU s'accompagne de taux plus faibles d'attaques subies et d'initiations de conflits. Nous concluons que l'appartenance au CSNU revêt des avantages existentiels et qu'elle est associée à une probabilité plus faible de conflits militarisés [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women-led civil society activism contributed to the adoption of the WPS Agenda and the Security Council's recognition of these organisations as key WPS actors. However, civil society organisations (CSOs) are often allocated tokenistic roles during the national implementation of WPS resolutions. Drawing on Sabatier and Jenkin-Smith's Advocacy Coalition Framework, this study analyses 35 semi-structured interviews and surveys with CSOs and state WPS actors in Nigeria to explore the opportunities provided and the methods used by the Nigerian government to engage civil society in processes to implement UNSCR 2242 as political measures. The article highlights that UNSCR 2242 can be used by CSOs to advocate for political participation within processes to implement CT/CVE measures. However, the implementation of the Resolution exposes these actors to greater risks in the domestic context. Further, operationalising WPS as a policy provides insights into how CSOs utilise their interaction within political sub-systems to influence policy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an uncharted era of the COVID 19 pandemic dilemma, Tunisia, a small nation in North Africa, served as an elected member of the Security Council in 2020-2021. The temporal framework of this Tunisian experience coincided with two variables: a. multilateralism has again come under pressure, and b. great power tensions have returned to the Security Council in the last decade. This paper aims at assessing Tunisia's claim of a 'successful' record over its two-year term, and entails the exploration of what factors and stimulants, as well as constraints and challenges, were promising or degrading for a small state to engage and try to make a difference in the UNSC decision-making process. The paper also explores whether Tunisia embraced a potential well-structured African approach to working with the E10 and navigating the nuances of the P5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The group of three non-permanent African members (A3) of the UNSC are expected to advance AU common positions and strengthen UN-AU collaboration.[20] Similarly, the members of the EU that serve on the UNSC are obliged to defend the positions and interests of their union and coordinate their work at the UN.[21] Experiences of E10 Memberships Contributors in this section disentangle different types of E10 state memberships. The UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) have held annual consultations since 2007. The United Nations' (UN) charter endows its Security Council (UNSC) with primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. [Extracted from the article]

Since Germany joined the United Nations (UN) in 1973, it served six times as an elected member of the UN Security Council. The main aim of the article is to evaluate Germany's latest term (2019–2020). What policy space can elected members occupy given the still unreformed Council? Germany is selected as a case study, because it is a pivotal regional power with the potential to exert significant influence on the Council. The article provides an in-depth overview of Germany's performance and explores those conditions which shape and steer its positions as an elected member. Three conditions are particularly relevant: diplomatic capacity, the effective use of Council rules and procedures, as well as the ability to forge coalitions. As a regional powerhouse and adamant endorser of multilateralism, the expectations toward Germany are high, however, has the country lived up to them? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niger served on the Security Council in the period 2020–2021 and remained throughout its tenure an active player in its West African region on security issues. The government in Niamey also leveraged its moral high ground in the region, based on its experience of democratic transfers of power in presidential elections in early 2021. Niger had expertise on security challenges in one of the focus regions of the Council, the Sahel, while it also enjoyed a good geopolitical partnership with two permanent members of the Council, France and the US, thanks to earlier cooperation on counter-terrorism initiatives in the Sahel. This article empirically examines how Niger used these factors to show agency in overcoming apparent structural deficiencies to address its own security challenges and promote aspects of the African Peace and Security Architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has served as an elected African member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) three times: in 2007–2008; 2011–2012; and 2019–2020. This article grapples with South Africa's role as an active, voting participant on the UNSC during its third term, with reference to its previous UNSC tenures. Using a three-step model of voting behaviour analysis, the article highlights aspects of South Africa's international peacekeeping obligations that interested observers have placed considerable value on, to determine its consistency in acting upon its declared foreign policy. This includes the Republic's role in bringing the UN and African Union (AU) peace and security structures closer together and its efforts in strengthening the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda. The study finds that the Republic has consistently built on its memory from its previous two terms, and its failures and successes, enabling it to utilize its third term in the most optimal way possible to meet its multilateral foreign policy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Sweden's successful 2016 bid to serve at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and shows that the subsequent 2017–18 tenure relied on a formula with three key elements. One was to mobilize the competitive advantages of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and a second to systematically highlight Africa-related priorities. A third element was to boost the standing of the E10 category of members in day-to-day diplomatic practice. After securing a plurality of votes in the General Assembly, Swedish diplomats went to work with a unique constellation of concurrently serving likeminded countries, generally receptive to Stockholm's priorities. The formula appears to have contributed to a solid performance in 2017–2018. That said, the UNSC is not conducive to individual E10 members having a lasting impact on its institutional memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What explains rising powers' approach to emerging norms that challenge ontological order? The article uses a controlled comparison of two rising powers, China and India, as they address the responsibility to protect, which reconceives state sovereignty as contingent. Both states rejected the norm at its inception, before diverging as UN Security Council members during norm application in the Libya intervention. China assumed a creative resister role, offering tactical concessions, while using traditional sovereignty norms to renovate norm content. India assumed a norm begrudger role, typified by rhetorical rejection and disengagement from evolving normative discourse, coupled with practical support for the responsibility to protect. These rising powers' normative roles are shaped by their dual status and differing positions within the UN Security Council social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few architectural sites seem as symbolic of the system of political rule whose official seat they accommodate as the African Union Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC) in Addis Ababa. Funded, designed, and built by Chinese agencies, the complex sits at the center of a shifting set of international relations that also thread through the organisation's longer architectural history. In analysing the project, this article explains processes of material, spatial, and administrative organisation at its core: an array of design and construction practices, building-related technologies, and forms of post-delivery management and maintenance that we argue amount to a mode of technical governance. Understanding this architectural form of governance requires a closer study of the design, construction, and post-occupancy of the AUCC as well as the adjacent German-designed Peace and Security Council building. It also necessitates situating these within a longer history of architectural contributions to the shifting nature of Pan-African governance in Addis Ababa over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where does Turkey geographically belong, the Middle East or Eastern Europe? This was a looming puzzle for the architects of the Cold War to solve in the early 1950s. This was so because Turkey's region would dramatically affect the composition of members in the UN Security Council. Although Turkey was elected to the Council from the Middle East region in 1950, it moved its region to Eastern Europe in 1953 to compete with Poland for the Council seat. However, the determination of where Turkey belonged was not an easy task and demanded very delicate calculations and political strategies. We argue that it was the Cold War strategies of the US that arbitrated where Turkey geographically belonged, exemplifying that regions are formed through discourse and are constantly mediated and renegotiated. This situation has created both opportunities and limitations for the Turkish policy-makers who joined the debate ex post-facto, spoke either to legitimise the US decision or to displace counter arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Bargaining in the UN Security Council: Setting the Global Agenda" by Susan Allen and Amy Yuen provides an in-depth analysis of the decision-making processes within the UN Security Council (UNSC). The authors highlight the strategic choices made by diplomats in the UNSC and the influence of both powerful and non-powerful states in shaping the global agenda. The book emphasizes the agenda-setting power of the rotating presidency, the decision to discuss issues publicly or privately, and the role of the Council president in shaping opportunities for "grandstanding." Through empirical data and case studies, the authors demonstrate the importance of understanding the inner workings of the UNSC for scholars, policymakers, and students interested in international affairs. [Extracted from the article]

Intergovernmental deliberations in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are typically considered the realm of sovereign nation states. We challenge this position by studying the role of the UN Secretariat in UNSC debates, focusing on the debates on Afghanistan (1995–2017). We combine natural language processing with a network theoretical perspective to observe speaker position, topic introduction, and topic evolution and we complement this analysis with an illustrative case study. The quantitative analysis shows that UN officials take an overall impartial position but that they do, at times, introduce and promote their own topics putting them in the position to shape the debate. The qualitative case study selects one 'bureaucratic topic' to confirm bureaucratic agency. Combined, our methods allow to study the role of speakers in a debate and show that the UN bureaucracy acted as an autonomous speechmaker even in a venue were bureaucratic agency seems unlikely – the UNSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the motivations driving the production of ISIS's distinctive 2015 video, No Respite, released in response to the UN Security Council's condemnation of the terrorist organization's spate of violence. The article embraces a unique methodological framework that examines both the relationship between identity, discourse, and critical geopolitics and ISIS's specific organized persuasive communication strategies. The framework is used to explain ISIS's use of statistics as well as competitive and masculine discourse to bolster its legitimacy as a self-proclaimed state. The analysis is conducted through the lens of ISIS's goal to be seen as a legitimate statehood project in lieu of a violent non-state actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council decided on Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). More than 80 countries around the world have adopted National Action Plans (NAPs) to implement the resolution. The existing literature on NAPs in the Global North is critical of how states use the WPS agenda for traditional security goals and hardly include civil society in their policies. The Dutch NAP has not been studied yet, although it is built on a strong relationship between the state and civil society organizations, the latter being partners and signatories of the NAP. Based on interviews with signatories of the third Dutch NAP, this contribution unpacks and analyzes NAP making as governmentality. I argue that the plan's governing structure has led to more comprehensive understandings of security and gender in the NAP, yet it is still made for specific racialized "Others" and prioritizes national security interests. The NAP is primarily a funding instrument and is exclusively available to signatory organizations. This has created competition for funding and influence between different civil society groups, rewarding large development and peace organizations, and thus white Global North knowledge, marginalizing women's rights and diaspora organizations, and excluding local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the meeting records of the United Nations Security Council draft resolutions that Russia vetoed to stop the Council action targeting the Syrian regime, this article explains the rationale behind the diplomatic shield Russia has provided to Syria. It explores Russia's motivations, interests, perceptions, and fears through five distinct themes identified from the meeting records. By doing so, it offers further evidence on Russia's adaptive and responsive position in the negotiated international order that is formed in confrontation with the West. It also demonstrates that the discourses in the Council function as part of a process in which Russia's national identity, values, and priorities in international politics are constructed socially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established powers enjoy privileges in world politics coveted by emerging powers. These privileges vary in their level of institutionalization: full formal privileges, partial formal privileges, and informal privileges. We identify two alternative strategic routes through which emerging powers target these three types of privileges: a top-down and a bottom-up route. We analyze two factors that impact the choice between these two routes: restrictiveness of eligibility criteria for winning privileges, and the expected levels of opposition by both established powers and outsiders. We examine the impact of these factors on two cases in which India negotiated privileges: India's top-down campaign to win a permanent seat on the UN Security Council; and India's bottom-up campaign to enter the nuclear club as a de facto nuclear weapon state. Highly restrictive eligibility criteria along with high levels of opposition drove India to gradually seek nuclear privileges through a bottom-up route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong civil society is fundamental to the wellbeing and resilience of communities. Young people play powerful in civil society activism, but their contribution is yet to be fully grasped and appreciated. As the 10-year anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security approaches in 2025, more action is needed to genuinely include, prioritise and champion the role and perspectives of young people. Succession planning is an important aspect of youth civil society activism. Whilst much has been written about the topic in the public and private sectors, very little exists in the context of civil society organisations, and in particular, in youth civil society organisations. Drawing on lived experience of voluntarily coordinating a youth feminist organisation in Australia, I argue there are six added complexities that youth civil society organisations face. As part of feminist ethic of practice, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of 'representational irony' and in doing so, share learnings, reflections, and practical recommendations to assist others. Whilst the paper focuses on youth civil society activism, learnings apply more broadly to stewardship and succession planning in organisations that seek to include and champion young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African positions in multilateral organisations have become more pronounced in recent years. An emerging body of literature on African agency indicates a visible increase in coordinating African interests at international level. This article interrogates to which degree African agency has materialised at the UN Security Council (UNSC) and whether this has led to greater influence in the highest decision-making body of the UN? For this undertaking, we explore UNSC resolution voting patterns over a period of 22 years (2000–2021). This is the first time an extensive analysis of A3 voting at the UNSC has been conducted. We find that although there are qualitative signs of improved coordination, this has only partially resulted in a measurable increase in direct influence. The article connotes an agency influence gap. African countries do not effectively transfer their new found agency into greater influence. The last section of the article presents four explanatory reasons for this deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against health care has been a defining feature of the Syrian conflict. Over the course of the conflict, Physicians for Human Rights has documented and corroborated nearly 600 attacks on health facilities and the killing of over 920 medical personnel. The scale of attacks has not been documented for any prior war. As part of a research stream of The Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria, we have described a strategy of 'weaponisation of health care'. This strategy, largely adopted by the Syria regime and its allies, has other components beyond attacking health facilities and targeting health workers such as criminalizing medical neutrality, , militarising health facilities, and blocking health humanitarian assistance. Violence against health care has profound consequences on the health system and on the health of affected population and communities through limiting availability of and access to vital services. One example is the resurgence of polio in 2013. Violence against health care in Syria has contributed to energetic international responses including the adoption of a landmark Resolution 2286 by the UN Security Council in 2016 emphasizing protection of health care during armed conflict. While the responses were not effective at stopping or even reducing the number of attacks, they strengthened the normative framework for action and raised global awareness of the seriousness of the issue. There were also innovative local responses to attacks on health care such as building hospitals underground. Future research directions in this area include understanding the violence, particularly through perpetrator studies, improving methods for investigating attacks and documenting their impact, and exploring options for preventing violence against health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have long debated when the Palestinian Liberation Organisation [PLO] first accepted the international consensus on a two-state settlement as a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This analysis contributes to the debate by closely examining PLO diplomatic support for a draft United Nations [UN] Security Council resolution along the lines of the two-state consensus in January 1976, its passage prevented by an American veto. Drawing upon declassified documents in American, UN, and British archives, this analysis argues that the record of negotiations at the Security Council strongly indicates that by the mid-1970s, the PLO was ready to accept the terms of a two-state settlement, even as the United States and Israel persistently rejected a negotiated settlement inclusive of Palestinian self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades, United Nations (UN) Peace Operations have become increasingly multidimensional and integrated. Blue helmets, originally deployed to provide security and enforce cease-fires, are now engaging in multi-domain activities aimed at sustaining long-term peace. As part of this trend, the UN Security Council has begun mandating Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs) and Special Political Missions (SPMs) to engage in climate-sensitive programming. Questions, however, remain over the effectiveness of climate-related activities in peace operations. This study, using a large textual dataset, provides a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the state of climate-sensitive programming in PKOs and SPMs. The findings indicate that while mandates and programming activities related to climate change have been on the rise, most field operations have failed to integrate climate-sensitive programming into their work. Moreover, the agenda on climate security appears to have led to a process of institutional decoupling between organizational arrangements and field activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how Nehru's world vision and foreign policy were shaped by his participation in the anti-colonial movement. During the Cold War years, Indian foreign policy was overwhelmingly guided by Nehruvian principles. Those principles were not completely overlooked even after the end of the Cold War when India made a shift in its foreign policy. Interestignly, even the most 'non-Nehruvian' government have followed some of the Nehruvian tenets. The paper also examines Nehru's idea of Non-Alignment, his approach to the Kashmir issue, relations with China, and the question of India's membership to the United Nations Security Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cases of Poland's 2018-2019 and South Africa's 2019-2020 terms as elected members (E10) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can be used to confront the well-known claim that due to a prevailing democratic, legitimacy or efficiency deficit(s) in the structure and/or working methods of the Council, there is no significant space for the E10 members to be influential. By examining these two representative cases, the E10's capacity to exert such influence can indeed be detected on multiple levels, which highlights the numerous channels and practices available to the elected members to act as veritable norm entrepreneurs at this most prominent institution of global governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies an innovative mechanism of how the EU's internal policies could lead to policy adaptations within international institutions. Having authority over the single market, the EU regulates important market actors whose behaviour is oftentimes crucial for the effectiveness of global cooperation projects. By intentionally or unintentionally creating a vertical regulatory conflict with an international institution, the EU might influence the behaviour of European market actors in a way that it undermines the effectiveness of the international institution. To preserve its effectiveness, the external institution is forced to adapt towards European internal policies to dissolve conflict and to enable mutual compliance for European market actors. The potential of the mechanism is explored in two cases: The EU's externalisation of data protection to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the externalisation of European fundamental rights to the UN Security Council. The process tracing finds that the EU is able to carve out authority from international institutions under specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's attitude towards the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has evolved from resistance to acceptance with reservations. Having endorsed R2P, China reinterpreted the emerging norm and put forward four principles of implementing R2P, namely target state consent, regional consensus, non-coercive means or coercive means authorized by the UN Security Council, and no precedent-setting, which are followed when implementing R2P. This article explores China's change in attitude towards R2P and its different attitude on different R2P-related issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the key target area of R2P, arguing that the combination of socialization mechanism and localization mechanism explains a series of China's behaviours including its change of attitude towards R2P, reinterpretation of R2P and stance on implementing R2P on specific issues. Through examining the Darfur issue, the Libyan crisis and the Syrian crisis, the article demonstrates how China supports or opposes the implementation of R2P under the combined influence of socialization and localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biometric technical capabilities enable the collection, storage, transmission, sharing, matching, and analysis of biometrics to enable decision making and actioning in support of national security objectives. United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2396 (2017) and UNSCR 2322 (2016) calls upon member states to investigate foreign terrorist fighters and share biometrics and contextual information, which requires a close alignment between military operations, border security, and law enforcement investigations. A system of systems design of biometrics technical capabilities allows for closer alignment between relevant entities to support national security objectives. However, this alone is not sufficient and there is a need for legislation and organizational policy to enable national and international biometrics collection, storage, transmission, sharing, matching, analysis and actioning. This paper discusses the complex Australian legislative and policy considerations to enable the biometric system to support the criminal justice, law enforcement, military and intelligence systems to meet national security objectives. Sharing of biometrics data and contextual information to meet national security objectives need to be balanced with privacy concerns and civil liberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally falling under the remit of the World Health Organization (WHO), health issues such as health emergencies or access to healthcare have been addressed more frequently in debates and resolutions of the UN Security Council (UNSC) since 2000. As the UNSC is the UN's principal body dealing with threats and endangerments to international peace and security, this points to a certain degree of the securitisation of health. By means of a statistical analysis of UNSC speeches between 1995 and 2019 as well as by examining health-related UNSC resolutions, this research explores by whom and how health is treated as a security issue in UNSC debates. This article argues that health is increasingly paid attention to during health emergencies, displaying a narrow framing of health that follows a health security paradigm. However, health is also addressed with a focus on health systems, the wider determinants of health as well as with respect to the access to healthcare and hospitals and the protection of healthcare personnel. This points to the UNSC considering a broader understanding of public health issues to be relevant for its security agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In passing resolutions on HIV/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19, the Security Council has shown at least a passing interest in health, and calls have been made to give it a more central role in global disease response. In this contribution, reflecting on two decades of the UNSC's engagement with health emergencies, I suggest we should be cautious about making the Security Council too central to pandemic response. I focus on three problems with the Council: that it is highly politicised and deeply divided in ways that mean it cannot be relied on to act when needed most; that when it does act it tends to do so too late, once an emerging problem has already become a global crisis; and that it does not in any case necessarily have the tools at its disposal to make a meaningful contribution. Instead, I argue, it is precisely its role as a 'health outsider' that enables the UNSC to occasionally make a contribution. It would be risky indeed to hand such a body real responsibility for crisis response. That is a task much more likely to be performed assiduously (if often imperfectly) by a body such as the WHO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UN Security Council has increasingly involved itself in health emergencies over the last two decades, but the advantages and potential risk of its role have not been well explored. The experience Security Council intervention in the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone can be instructive, in particular because it contributed to the establishment of a first-ever UN emergency health mission. While this mission was not considered effective, Security Council involvement may have helped to mobilise resources, highlight the need for a cross-sectoral response, and maintain international flights. More broadly, however, questions remain about whether the securitisation of health risks diverting funding and policy focus towards the priorities of wealthy countries and away from basic health needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the 'UN Security Council and Health Emergencies' collection, this article provides the humanitarian perspective in the collection. Over the last two decades, the UN Security Council has come to play an increasingly prominent role in global responses to health emergencies—including in COVID-19. In this article, scholars from International Relations, Public Health, International Law and humanitarian aid organisations reflect on this developing role, and the consequences (both positive and negative) for global health security efforts. From the humanitarian perspective, the nexus of health and security has become a war on words and a double-edged sword. The article highlights the difference between the 'securitisation' of health and securing health, where the latter is what is truly needed in ensuring health for all. It does so by bringing out examples of real field impact and challenges humanitarian actors face when narratives are manipulated as such and what role the UNSC can and should play in allaying negative repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the 'health security' paradigm positions health-related human rights as subordinate to national security concerns. As a consequence, health is viewed instrumentally, shifting the global health response towards maintaining national security rather than upholding human rights. We trace here how both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Security Council have approached global health crises, evolving across infectious disease responses to HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola and COVID-19. While the Security Council has come to address human rights in select public health contexts, we see that the securitisation of human rights in times of crisis can pose severe limits on individual rights, failing to develop global health solidarity through a commitment to broader health objectives such as Universal Health Coverage. We conclude that the Security Council and the WHO should collaborate towards a rights-based response to COVID-19 that prioritises individual human rights alongside national security concerns, addressing underlying inequities in the global response to infectious disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operative paragraph 7 of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2532 (2020) acknowledges 'the critical role that women are playing in the COVID-19 response efforts', the 'disproportionate negative impact the pandemic is having on women and girls', and 'calls for concrete actions to minimise this impact and ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth in the development and implementation of an adequate and sustainable response to the pandemic'. This Resolution is clear in its language: states must recognise and respond to the gendered effects of the pandemic. The adoption of Resolution 2532 and subsequently 2565 (2021) is an important opportunity to further integrate health emergencies and UNSC's Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. The language is deliberate: it offers global health a set of mechanisms on how to integrate gender into complex crises and, in turn, offers WPS a chance to engage with health and pandemics as a security challenge for women and girls. However, as previous health emergencies and the WPS agenda show us, Resolutions are not a panacea: they are political compromises often riddled with contradictions and are dependent on states and the international community to implement them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugee women are generally depicted as vulnerable and dependent subjects and excluded from peacebuilding efforts. This article is a response to the need for balancing the protection needs of refugee women and their participation in decision-making processes. It brings two different but complementary frameworks, namely the International Refugee Protection Regime (IRPR) and the United Nations Security Council's Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, into conversation through a gender analysis. The article shows that bringing these two frameworks together can overcome each other's limitations regarding refugee women's agency. Through analysing legal and policy frameworks together with the existing literature on refugee women and the WPS Agenda, this article focuses on Turkey as a case study. This article argues that implementing the IRPR and the WPS Agenda together in a national action plan in Turkey would strengthen refugee women's protection and promote their agency as actors of peacebuilding in exile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the role of economic sanctions in deterring nuclear testing. It argues that sanctions have been relatively effective in discouraging the pursuit and acquisition of nuclear weapons but have a more mixed track record when it comes to preventing nuclear tests. The article explains why preventing further nuclear testing furthers US nonproliferation interests and discusses three different avenues for strengthening sanctions against nuclear testing: through the United Nations Security Council, unilaterally, or through coordination with like-minded partners. It argues for the importance of sanctions even in complicated cases where US allies are considering conducting nuclear tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]