Strategies for Approval : Building Support for Military Intervention at the UN Security Council

Omtale

A thoughtful analysis of how major powers can obtain UN Security Council approval for military intervention Powerful states often seek UN Security Council approval for their military interventions to enhance legitimacy, but how can they secure this approval when veto-wielding permanent members have strong reservations? Drawing on declassified documents and interviews with top diplomats, Stefano Recchia demonstrates that since the early 1990s, powerful states facing serious opposition at the UNSC have not been able to rely solely on leverage to secure approval for the use of force. Instead, they have had to combine the use of leverage with credible signals that they would act with restraint and in alignment with core international norms. This often required that they accept costly limitations on the use of force embedded in the UN resolution. Recchia makes a compelling case that accepting such constraints will be all the more critical in the future if powerful countries, including the United States, are to secure UN approval in a more competitive international environment.