China As Nuclear Power And Its Un Security Council Membership

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1,0 (CH: 6,0), University of Zurich (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), course: Seminar "International Politics of East Asia", language: English, abstract: Since 1964, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a nuclear power and its government increasingly became the internationally acknowledged and legitimate bearer of power. In 1971, the PRC replaced the Taiwanese representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The PRC is now one of five permanent members in the UNSC and seemingly holds this status due to its possession of nuclear weapons. Thus, is it true that China's permanent UNSC-membership stalls improvements in complying with disarmament and non-proliferation policies? George Tsebelis' theory (Veto Players) supports the finding of an answer.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1,0 (CH: 6,0), University of Zurich (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), course: Seminar "International Politics of East Asia", language: English, abstract: Since 1964, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a nuclear power and its government increasingly became the internationally acknowledged and legitimate bearer of power. In 1971, the PRC replaced the Taiwanese representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The PRC is now one of five permanent members in the UNSC and seemingly holds this status due to its possession of nuclear weapons. Thus, is it true that China’s permanent UNSC-membership stalls improvements in complying with disarmament and non-proliferation policies? George Tsebelis’ theory (Veto Players) supports the finding of an answer.

China has emerged in the 21st century as a sophisticated, and sometimes contentious, actor in the United Nations Security Council. This is evident in a range of issues, from negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program to efforts to bring peace to Darfur. Yet China’s role as a veto-holding member of the Council has been left unexamined. How does it formulate its positions? What interests does it seek to protect? How can the international community encourage China to be a contributor, and not a spoiler? This book is the first to address China’s role and influence in the Security Council. It develops a picture of a state struggling to find a way between the need to protect its stakes in a number of ‘rogue regimes’, on one hand, and its image as a responsible rising power on the world stage, on the other. Negotiating this careful balancing act has mixed implications, and means that whilst China can be a useful ally in collective security, it also faces serious constraints. Providing a window not only into China’s behaviour, but into the complex world of decision-making at the UNSC in general, the book covers a number of important cases, including North Korea, Iran, Darfur, Burma, Zimbabwe, Libya and Syria. Drawing on extensive interviews with participants from China, the US and elsewhere, this book considers not only how the world affects China, but how China impacts the world through its behaviour in a key international institution. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese politics and Chinese international relations, as well as politics, international relations, international institutions and diplomacy more broadly.

These essays support the argument that strong and effective presidential leadership is the most important prerequisite for South Korea to sustain and project its influence abroad. That leadership should be attentive to the need for public consensus and should operate within established legislative mechanisms that ensure public accountability. The underlying structures sustaining South Korea’s foreign policy formation are generally sound; the bigger challenge is to manage domestic politics in ways that promote public confidence about the direction and accountability of presidential leadership in foreign policy.

As the twentieth century ended, Canada was completing its sixth term on the UN Security Council. A decade later, Ottawa’s attempt to return to the council was dramatically rejected by its global peers, leaving Canadians – and international observers – shocked and disappointed. Canada on the United Nations Security Council tells the story of that defeat and what it means for future campaigns, describing and analyzing Canada’s attempts since 1946, both successful and unsuccessful, to gain a seat as a non-permanent member. Impeccably researched and clearly written, this is the definitive history of the Canadian experience on the world’s most powerful stage.

The nature and scope of UN Security Council decisions - significantly changed in the post-Cold War era - have enormous implications for the conduct of foreign policy. The UN Security Council offers a comprehensive view of the council both internally and as a key player in world politics. Focusing on the evolution of the council's treatment of key issues, the authors discuss new concerns that must be accommodated in the decisionmaking process, the challenges of enforcement, and shifting personal and institutional factors. Case studies complement the rich thematic chapters. The book sheds much-needed light on the central events and trends of the past decade and their critical importance for the future role of the council and the UN in the sphere of international security.

Despite its increasingly secure place in the world, the People's Republic of China remains dissatisfied with its global status. Its growing material power has simultaneously led to both greater influence and unsettling questions about its international intentions. China also has found itself in a constant struggle to balance its aspirations abroad with a daunting domestic agenda. This authoritative book provides a unique exploration of the complex and dynamic motivations behind Beijing's foreign policy. The authors focus on China's choices and calculations on issues such as the ruling Communist party-regime's interests, international status and image, nationalism, Taiwan, human rights, globalization, U.S. hegemony, international institutions, and the war on terrorism. Taken together, the chapters offer a comprehensive diagnosis of the emerging paradigms in Chinese foreign policy, illuminating especially China's struggle to engineer and manage its rise in light of the opportunities and perils inherent in the post-cold war and post-9/11 world.