How is a veto justified? Within the discipline of International Relations, discourse analysis is gaining a higher status. However, there is a surprising lacuna in the literature as a discursive approach to the veto in the United Nations Security Council, is yet to be taken. This is unfortunate, given the Security Council’s prominence. The way in which the council members make meaning through their word choice has profound effects for politics in the international system. There is, nonetheless, a growing debate on the functioning of the council, and the veto-power is an important object of contestation. Motivated by current veto-restraining initiatives, this thesis performs a discourse analysis on the 19 cast vetoes between 2005-2016. The actors of relevance are the permanent Security Council members China, Russia, and the US, and the study demonstrates how the concepts of sovereignty, intervention and legitimacy are employed in the discursive construction of the legitimate veto. The thesis further argues that there are patterns and reoccurring themes in the way meaning is created that can be summarized into a contra-discourse —a veto-discourse —contrasting the dominating discourse within the Security Council.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After being sidelined for a number of years, South Africa finds itself readmitted to the international community. One of the many issues at stake now is the reform of the United Nations Security Council. This study looks at South Africa's aim to make substantial changes in the international system, with the Security Council being one of the target institutions. This is a mammoth task for South Africa and the study points out the challenges that go with engaging in this process. The study points out an element of ambiguity in South Africa's foreign policy and the challenges that go with making multilateralism a cornerstone of such a policy. While it is not yet clear as to whether South Africa will succeed in changing the behaviour of states and the practice of multilateral institutions, it is at the moment participating in debates that might lead to such changes. South Africa's participation in the Open Ended Working Committee on the reform of the United Nations Security Council constitutes one move among others to ensure a change in the practice of the Security Council. The limits of making multilateralism a cornerstone of foreign policy are outlined with the aim of making policy-makers aware of the implications of the broad scope of their ambiguous foreign policy. While it is necessary to avoid engaging in assignments that might be difficult to manage, the need for South Africa to focus only on what is achievable and not to try and punch above its weight is one aspect this paper emphasises. The paper ends by making recommendations, which include (among others) that South Africa should attempt to secure a seat in the reformed Security Council should such an opportunity arise, but only after a careful consideration of her abilities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Na jare van politieke isolasie is Suid-Afrika weer 'n volwaardige lid van die internasionale gemeenskap. Die hervorming van die Verenigde Nasies (VN) se Veiligheidsraad, het binne die konteks van buitelandse beleid, een van die land se vernaamste uitdagings geword. Hierdie studie plaas Suid-Afrika se hervormingspogings van die internasionale stelselonder die soeklig, en fokus veralop die rol van die VN Veiligheidsraad. Die omvang van dié proses kan nie onderskat word nie, en die studie poog om die vernaamste uitdagings van hierdie hervormings te identifiseer. Die opdrag poog om te wys op 'n mate van teenstrydigheid wat in Suid- Afrika se buitelandse beleid te bespeur is, asook die uitdagings verbonde aan die vestiging van multilaterale betrekkinge as hoeksteen van sodanige beleid. Hoewel daar nog nie duidelikheid bestaan oor die mate van sukses wat die land behaal het met betrekking tot die gedrag van state en die praktyk van multilaterale betrekkinge nie, neem dit tans deel aan debate wat mag lei tot beleidsverandering in hierdie velde. Suid-Afrika se deelname aan die VN Veiligheidraad se Ope Werkskonunittees, rakende die hervorming van hierdie liggaam, is een voorbeeld van die land se verbintenis tot die verandering van Veiligheidsraad praktyke. Die beperkings rakende mulilaterale betrekkinge, 'n steunpilaar van internasionale beleid, word uitgelig ten einde beleidsmakers bewus te maak van die omvattende aard van 'n dikwels, onduidelike, buitelandse beleid. Die opdrag benadruk die feit dat Suid-Afrika sal moet poog om slegs betrokke te raak in internasionale aksies wat binne sy vermoëns val. Dit word afgesluit met 'n aantal aanbevelings. Een hiervan is 'n pleidooi dat Suid-Afrika permanente lidmaatskap van die 'n hervormde Veiligheidsraad verkry indien die geleentheid dit voordoen. Sodanige deelname kan egter eers geskied na deeglike oorweging van die land se vermoës binne hierdie sfeer.

- Importance of United Nations Security Council and binding effect of resolutions in maintenance of international peace and security This paper depicts the history previous to creation and the creation itself of UN and the Security Council, followed by chapter devoted to the permanent and non- permanent members of the Council with subchapter about reform proposals in terms of its composition. Then there is detailed description of functions and powers of the Security Council, including also a topic relating to the Council's period of paralysis. In the chapter on voting procedure there is stressed the crucial issue of distinguishing procedural and non-procedural resolutions with talking about veto power as well. The final chapter is devoted to the decisions of the Security Council with focus on resolutions and their binding effect.

The Reform of the United Nations Security Council through the Enlargement of its Members Abstract This master thesis focuses on the topic which has been discussed in the international community for several decades. Security Council is responsible for maintaining peace and security in the world since the organization was founded. In order to carry out this task, it has been endowed with several prominent powers, from which the most important and controversial at the same time is the right to veto, with the ability to block any resolution. The structure of the Security Council was established after the end of the Second World War and it has not been changed since then, besides the reform in 1963. This fact negatively affects proper functioning of the Security Council in today's world, which has changed rapidly since 1945, and reduces its legitimacy because of the insufficient representation of the UN members. The organization was founded by 51 states, but since then the membership has increased almost four times and today there are already 193 countries in the UN. Nowadays, there are several reform groups that want to achieve different progresses in different ways. But in most of these cases there have been attempts to increase the number of members of the Security Council - both permanent and elected. The...

<p>Utilizing Critical Theory, through its neo-Gramscian and Frankfurt School dimensions, as the theoretical framework, this study aims to explain how the institutions, such as the United Nations, of an international system transform together with the structure – the international system. More specifically our aim is to explain the lack of transformation of only one body, the Security Council, of that specific institution, the United Nations.</p><p>Analyzing the press releases of the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2006 and examining 337 statements from the Member States through Critical Theory to be able understand and explain how and why it hasn’t been possible to reform, or transform, the United Nations Security Council in the last 14 years since the establishment of the Open-Ended Working Group as a group to particularly deal with the question of reform. The analysis suggests that the current debates in the United Nations concerning the reform of the Security Council is unable to produce a successful transformation of that body because it is not possible for an institution to finalize its own transformation independent from that of the structure as a whole.</p>

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The chief purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework which can contribute to a broader theoretical understanding of the actions of the U.N. Security Council and its members. The framework rests upon a rationalistic foundation and it is set up with two different models of explanation; a first with focus on power and security and the second which is an institutional explanation. The framework is then applied on a case study in which the behavior of theUnited Statesand theUnited Kingdomin the Security Council are explained. The outcome of the paper is worth mentioning that the member nations have find the Security Council to be an important institution and that there is an apprehension of the precedential power of the institution. The study also points out that a permanent member is more likely to use its veto when there are strong national reasons of so doing. In general the developed theoretical framework seems to be well appropriate to explain states behavior in the Security Council and may provide a foundation for further theoretical studies on the subject.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe tiriama Jungtinių Tautų Saugumo Tarybos veikla 2003–2013 m., siekiant įvertinti institucijos efektyvumą palaikant tarptautinę taiką ir saugumą. Darbą sudaro keturi skyriai. Pirmajame skyriuje aptariami instituciniai Saugumo Tarybos požymiai, Jungtinių Tautų Chartijoje nustatyti įgaliojimai ir pagrindiniai veiklos po Šaltojo karo bruožai. Antrajame skyriuje, remiantis išsamia surengtų posėdžių ir priimtų sprendimų analize, nagrinėjama Saugumo Tarybos veikla 2003–2013 m. Trečiajame skyriuje analizuojama pastebėtų veiklos tendencijų ir sprendimų priėmimo proceso įtaka Saugumo Tarybos efektyvumui. Atsižvelgiant į vykstančias diskusijas dėl Saugumo Tarybos reformos, pristatomi pagrindiniai reformos aspektai siekiant stiprinti efektyvumą. Ketvirtasis skyrius yra skirtas apžvelgti Lietuvos santykį su Saugumo Taryba, atkreipiant dėmesį į Saugumo Tarybos veiklą Lietuvos pirmininkavimo 2014 m. vasario mėnesį metu ir Lietuvos poziciją dėl Saugumo Tarybos reformos. / This Master Thesis examines the activity of the United Nations Security Council during the period of 2003–2013, in order to assess the effectiveness of the institution in maintaining international peace and security. The paper consists of four chapters. The first chapter presents the institutional character of the Security Council, its powers established by the United Nations Charter and the key features of post-Cold War activity. Based on the extensive analysis of the meetings held and decisions taken, the second part of this paper examines the activity of the Security Council during the period of 2003–2013. The third chapter assesses the effectiveness of the Security Council based on the observed trends of actions and the decision making processes. In light of the ongoing discussions on the reform of the Security Council, the main aspects of the reform are presented, taking into account the stated aim of strengthening the effectiveness. The fourth chapter is devoted to an overview of Lithuania’s relationship with the Security Council, with the focus on the activity of the Security Council during the Lithuanian Presidency in February 2014 as well as the official position of Lithuania on the Security Council reform.

This study in political science examines the UN adopted resolution 1970 (2011) and resolution 1973 (2011) on the basis of foreign policy decision-making. The study aims to explain how the UN principle of Responsibility to Protect came to be legitimized for the first time by the UN Security Council in the Libya conflict in 2011. By a poliheuristic perspective the study attempt to explain Russia and China’s acting in the voting of resolution 1970 and resolution 1973. The background to the conflict in Libya 2011 is presented in the study as well as the Security Council’s actions during the conflict, from the beginning of the conflict until the adoption of resolution 1973. The study is based on an argument analysis to crystallize the most important arguments from Russia and China’s statements regarding resolution 1970 and resolution 1973. The results of the research shows that the adoption of resolution 1973 and therefore a military intervention in Libya in 2011 can be explained, from a poliheuristic perspective, primarily by the few political options and decision-making dimensions actors have to choose from when making decisions.

O objetivo desta dissertação é examinar a motivação de os EUA terem formalizado seu apoio diplomático à candidatura da Índia para a obtenção de um assento permanente no Conselho de Segurança da ONU, enquanto mantêm uma postura mais reticente em relação ao pleito do Brasil. A hipótese primordial é a de que a diplomacia estadunidense busca defender interesses próprios; a parceria estratégica com a Índia viria, portanto, interligada à manutenção da influência dos EUA na Ásia, região onde a esfera de influência da chinesa é crescente. Para tanto esta dissertação também abordará o processo de deliberações a respeito da reforma do Conselho de Segurança, a qual se encontra presente na mesa de negociações desde os anos 1990. Busca-se analisar as propostas dos grupos de pressão que se colocaram em torno deste tema, buscando observar quais são suas argumentações em defesa de seus projetos e críticas em relação aos outros. Além disso, também examina-se a postura dos membros permanentes do CSNU em relação a uma possível reforma das Nações Unidas. Com isso, busca-se inferir quais seriam os obstáculos que tem atravancado o processo de reforma das Nações Unidas e se Brasil e Índia estariam próximos ou distantes de atingir o objetivo de adentrar no CSNU como membros permanentes. Ainda, também analisa-se as inserções internacionais de Brasil e Índia, buscando observar semelhanças e diferenças tanto em seu comportamento na esfera internacional como em suas capacidades de atuação no sistema internacional. Observa-se que, pelo fato de serem grandes países com grandes populações, crescentes economias, com sistema democrático estável e amplo engajamento nas Nações Unidas, há mais semelhanças do que diferenças na inserção destes dois países e, como potências emergentes, demonstram se credenciar à vaga permanente no Conselho de Segurança. / The aim of this dissertation is to examine the motivation of the USA support over de Indian candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, while USA is reticent about the Brazilian claim. The main hypothesis is that the USA diplomacy is seeking to defend its own interests; the strategic partnership with India, thus, comes from the maintenance of the USA influence in Asia, region where the sphere of influence of China is growing. This dissertation will approach the deliberation process on the Security Council reform, which is present in negotiations since de 1990s. The aim is, therefore, analyze the proposals of the lobbies that ate engaged in this topic. Besides, it is also examined the position of the UNSC permanent members in relation to the possibility of the United Nation reform. Therewith, it aims to conclude what are the obstacles that are obstructing the process of the United Nations reform and if Brazil and India would be close or far to achieve the goal of becoming new permanent members of the UNSC. Moreover, it is also analyzed the international insertion of Brazil and India, seeking to observe similarities and differences in their behavior in the international field and in their ability of act in the international system. It is observed that, because they are big countries with big populations, growing economies, with stable democratic system and broader engagement in the United Nations, there are more similarities than differences in the international insertion of these two countries and, as emerging powers, it shows that they accredit the Security Council permanent seat.