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Date of Award
4-29-2022
Document Type
Restricted Thesis: Campus only access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Liberal Arts
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Stephen Long
Abstract
The United Nations was founded on the principles of peace, for peace, from peace. However, U.N decisions post-Cold War have startled the world. With full scale wars being authorized in places like Afghanistan to no determinate action on years long disputes like Israel- Palestine or Kashmir. One then wonders, what is it that makes these cases different? Delving into a macro perspective, we notice that UN peacekeeping and “use of force” incidence is further skewed towards the African continent with more missions in the continent than anywhere else (United Nations Security Council(a), 2022). Looking deeper into conflict data, deaths, and other statistics, one finds Africa being no different than other continents. As noted in UCDP data, Africa on average actually has had both less deadly and less conflicts overall, no matter what type they fall under (see figures in Appendix). So why have more stronger decisions been made in Africa and not in other regions, despite prevalence of conflict and fatalities being spread out? Is it just a coincidence or are deeper factors at play? Could it be that member states are just disinterested or are isolated from Africa but have stronger connections to countries in other regions?
Recommended Citation
Kumar, Sandeep, "The Paradox of the UN: A Council of, by, and for the Permanent Five" (2022). Honors Theses. 1612.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1612