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The purpose of this study is to ascertain what role multilateral diplomacy has played in building and operationalising the AU, and whether it is likely to continue to consolidate the Union and, as a corollary, Africa’s socio-economic and political renewal. In this way the dissertation analyses both the role of multilateral diplomacy already utilised and the future prospects for diplomacy to entrench the Union’s organs and programmes. As most of the primary organs of the AU were established during the period 2000-2004, the diplomatic substance and process, which was predominantly multilateral in form during that period, is examined. The study attempts to provide explanations and offer recommendations for diplomatic behaviour by African states within the continental organisation, and the AU within the international context. Rationalist as well as constructivist international relations theory is used as a conceptual framework in order to examine diplomatic relations aimed at promoting issues of security, power and survival of the state, as well as ideas related to political economy, international cooperation and the environment, and international institution building. The diplomacy already utilised in the creation of the AU’s primary organs was predominantly focused on procedural issues, conducted by means of African multilateralism such as regional bloc diplomacy and personal diplomacy by African Heads of State and Government. The necessity to include other, non-state actors in the AU consolidation process is also evident. Prioritising the Union’s policy objectives under economic development and integration; continental good governance; and the popularisation of the AU, the study postulates that future African diplomacy will probably continue to be regionally driven, economic and public in nature and focused on making tangible progress. With the institutional infrastructure in place, the need for multilateral diplomacy to be geared towards implementation of AU commitments is emphasised. Multilateral diplomacy is likely to prevail in AU diplomatic practice both in terms of substance and procedure and will need to focus on addressing the enormous challenges faced by the continent including eradicating poverty and underdevelopment, ensuring peace, security and stability and combating HIV and AIDS, amongst others. The AU needs to use multilateral diplomacy, not exclusively but in conjunction with other forms of diplomacy, to effectively and efficiently implement its commitments and programmes for the tangible benefit of the ordinary African citizen. Only then will the AU be deemed credible in the eyes of its people and the rest of the world. Copyright / Dissertation (MDIPS)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

The Swedish state has participated as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council three times and is entering their fourth. The UNSC is an old institution that is not equal to what powers the states within it has. The permanent states, the victors from the second world war, have a more prominent role in the council and do not have to be elected every two years as the other states that want to be a part of the council. The cost of for small states like Sweden to be a part of the council can be quite large, but in financial means and as a time-consuming task for the foreign department. Therefore, it is essential to know if the time spent in the council for a state like Sweden amounts to something in the sense of influence over the outcome. This bears the question if Sweden has used and is using its membership in the UNSC in an effective manner. By looking at the official documentation by the foreign department and interviewing former diplomats about Sweden’s role in the UNSC during these periods this thesis analyses the way that Sweden has acted before. Furthermore, the thesis also looks at the first five weeks in the current period of 2017. The results are analyzed through a theoretical framework of what should be methods to achieve influence in the UNSC. As the analysis shows, Sweden has moved from being a more passive participant to a more active and proactive part of the UNSC. This, however, can come at the cost of changing other states view of the Swedish state in international relations.

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of multilateral diplomacy, as an instrument, to advance women's rights in the realm of international relations. Multilateral diplomacy has proven to be an effective instrument for managing order and change in the international arena quite effectively. The United Nations, as an international organisation, provides a style of diplomatic interaction that is available for public scrutiny. Sensitive issues, such as the advancement of the status of women, have been prioritised on the global agenda and could be subsequently incorporated into the policies of participating states. The diversity of role players attending an international conference is another positive feature of multilateral diplomacy. By virtue of it's nature, multilateral diplomacy is therefore an effective instrument for focussing globally on the issue of women's rights. The position of women in international political theory is dealt with by theorists from various perspectives. The feminist theorists ensure that social and political debates on the authority, legitimacy, democracy and universal human rights are considered from a woman's perspective. Where women are and where they should be are two questions that are equally important and crucial to dealing with the advancement of women's rights on the global agenda. Global issues, such as war, have had a shift in perspective from security-awareness to humanitarian-awareness. In its partnership with civil society, the United Nations as a diplomatic instrument, has become a voice for women internationally. The patriarchic system of apartheid in South Africa managed to entrench discrimination within its legislation based on both race and gender. A particular focus is the national machinery set up within South Africa to ensure that what was agreed on to at the international conferences makes a difference to the lives of women in South Africa. This paper intends to build on the existing body of knowledge currently available on the status of women in international relations theory. From a diplomatic perspective, it examines how the instrument of multilateral diplomacy has contributed to the advancement of women's rights. / Thesis (MDips)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

This dissertation focuses on Japanese policy as a whole, internal and external policy priorities and objectives, in order to illustrate the role, and analyze the level of effectiveness of conducted foreign policy tools. This paper explores some of the reasons and factors of conducted internal and external policy tools. Therefore, it shows how effective and in timely manner reaction of Japanese to state's internal policy, has influenced and played a key role during the country recovery and restoration. Moreover, proper policy objectives not only have restored the country but also made Japan one of the most advanced world centers. Japan is in a number of the advanced countries of the world, participating in modern world political process which dynamics has the general laws and the tendencies of development connected with transformation of the Pacific Rim into the center of global activity of the leading countries of the world. Changes in global scale, aftermath of the World War II affect the significant characteristic of foreign policy, official and economic diplomacy of Japan towards peace and security advocating country.

This thesis conducts an analysis of the Intersessional Process (ISP) of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) between 2001 and 2006. Specifically, it aims to assess the extent to which the ISP has resulted in progress towards strengthening the BTWC. The fulfilment of the research aim is derived from three discrete approaches: firstly, an assessment of problems and weaknesses faced by the Convention; secondly, an assessment of common or converging understandings around measures to respond to such problems and weaknesses; and thirdly, an assessment of what effective action has been achieved between 2001 and 2006. To achieve this, this thesis uses a framework that structures the assessment around four dimensions of the BTWC and their evolution within a changing geostrategic and scientific context. The four dimensions identified are compliance, development, institutional and research. The conclusions drawn from this thesis suggest that although the compliance dimension has made some considerable progress in the area of national legislation and biosafety and biosecurity, it remains clear that other areas of the compliance dimension remain underdeveloped and deeply divisive. The development dimension has also made progress over the course of the ISP and, significantly, achieved much greater convergence in its focus around disease surveillance and detection. However, changing dynamics in security and science have negatively affected other areas of the development dimension. In terms of the institutional dimension, there has been a modest progress with regard to the BTWC's institutional and procedural evolution; however, legitimate concerns remain in relation to quantity and quality of membership of the BTWC relative to other agreements. Finally, there has been some motion towards the emergence of a more coherent dimension of research; although certain advances in science research remain neglected in the BTWC forum, and the issue of biodefence has been conspicuously absent from discussion during the ISP. Based on the analysis conducted, this thesis argues that the BTWC has made cautious progress over the course of the ISP, and there is evidence of a convergence in responses and effective action in some areas. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest there has been 'major progress towards strengthening the Convention' and many issues require much greater attention.

O artigo analisa o padrão de votação e de proposição de resoluções da China no Conselho de Segurança das nações Unidas, com o objetivo verificar se o aumento das capacidades de poder deste país tem levado a alterações do seu comportamento neste órgão. / This article analyses the patterns of China\'s voting and submissions of draft resolution IN the Security Council, in order to see if China\'s increasing power capabilities has influenced its behavior on this board.

O artigo analisa o padrão de votação e de proposição de resoluções da China no Conselho de Segurança das nações Unidas, com o objetivo verificar se o aumento das capacidades de poder deste país tem levado a alterações do seu comportamento neste órgão. / This article analyses the patterns of China\'s voting and submissions of draft resolution IN the Security Council, in order to see if China\'s increasing power capabilities has influenced its behavior on this board.

This thesis conducts an analysis of the Intersessional Process (ISP) of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) between 2001 and 2006. Specifically, it aims to assess the extent to which the ISP has resulted in progress towards strengthening the BTWC. The fulfilment of the research aim is derived from three discrete approaches: firstly, an assessment of problems and weaknesses faced by the Convention; secondly, an assessment of common or converging understandings around measures to respond to such problems and weaknesses; and thirdly, an assessment of what effective action has been achieved between 2001 and 2006. To achieve this, this thesis uses a framework that structures the assessment around four dimensions of the BTWC and their evolution within a changing geostrategic and scientific context. The four dimensions identified are compliance, development, institutional and research. The conclusions drawn from this thesis suggest that although the compliance dimension has made some considerable progress in the area of national legislation and biosafety and biosecurity, it remains clear that other areas of the compliance dimension remain underdeveloped and deeply divisive. The development dimension has also made progress over the course of the ISP and, significantly, achieved much greater convergence in its focus around disease surveillance and detection. However, changing dynamics in security and science have negatively affected other areas of the development dimension. In terms of the institutional dimension, there has been a modest progress with regard to the BTWC¿s institutional and procedural evolution; however, legitimate concerns remain in relation to quantity and quality of membership of the BTWC relative to other agreements. Finally, there has been some motion towards the emergence of a more coherent dimension of research; although certain advances in science research remain neglected in the BTWC forum, and the issue of biodefence has been conspicuously absent from discussion during the ISP. Based on the analysis conducted, this thesis argues that the BTWC has made cautious progress over the course of the ISP, and there is evidence of a convergence in responses and effective action in some areas. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest there has been ¿major progress towards strengthening the Convention¿ and many issues require much greater attention.

冷戰之後，前蘇聯地區出現了一系列新獨立的共和國。哈薩克、烏茲別克、土庫曼、吉爾及斯和塔吉克脫離蘇聯徹底獨立，並加入聯合國；宣告了中亞地區在歐亞大陸腹地的重新崛起，並改變了歐亞大陸的地緣政治格局。 中共為了強化與俄羅斯、哈薩克、吉爾吉斯、和塔吉克四國的邊境安全和相互信心，於是創建了「上海五國」會晤機制。之後逐年召開會晤，2001年，更將「上海五國」機制改為「上海合作組織」之正式組織。該組織是第一個中國作為創始國的區域性合作國際組織，其順利發展和有效發揮職能不僅對維護中共周邊環境的穩定、擴大中共對外經濟活動空間有重大的現實意義，而且對於中共加入經濟全球化的進程的影響不容忽視。維護地區安全和加強經濟合作是「上海合作組織」的基本宗旨，推動「多邊外交」是其主要的任務。 本論文以中共在「上海合作組織」的多邊外交與合作為研究主題，主要探討的目的有1. 中共多邊外交的發展。2. 「上海合作組織」多邊合作形成的背景，演進的歷程與內容。3. 胡錦濤時期中共在「上海合作組織」中「多邊外交」的實踐對未來區域發展可能的影響進行研究評估，並針對該組織未來的可能發展與限制提出結論與建議。