IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/glopol/v15y2024is2p18-28.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reining in a liberal UN: China, power shifts, and the UN's peace and security pillar

Author

Listed:
  • Rosemary Foot

Abstract

Has the deepening of China's involvement with the United Nations (UN) actually led to significant China‐related shifts in power at the UN over the last three decades? This article explores this question in relation to the UN's move in the post Cold War era into a period of greater normative ambition that made the protection of the individual central to its efforts to maintain international peace and security. Conceptually, the article utilizes and adapts the four power types put forward by Barnett and Duvall (2005). Empirically, it draws on some core elements of the UN's expanded liberal normative agenda relating to the security of the individual. The article explores Beijing's attempts to revise or reverse the UN's liberal turn, assessing the extent to which China has been able, in the process, to effect a power shift. It concludes that China has had some, but as yet limited, successes. However, Beijing seems set to continue to be associated with the various types of power discussed here to press its case.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosemary Foot, 2024. "Reining in a liberal UN: China, power shifts, and the UN's peace and security pillar," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S2), pages 18-28, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:glopol:v:15:y:2024:i:s2:p:18-28
    DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.13327
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13327
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1758-5899.13327?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barnett, Michael & Duvall, Raymond, 2005. "Power in International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(1), pages 39-75, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yiping Cai, 2024. "Between co‐optation and emancipation: Chinese women's NGOs and power shifts at the United Nations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S2), pages 148-158, May.
    2. Simon Hartmann & Thomas Lindner & Jakob Müllner & Jonas Puck, 2022. "Beyond the nation-state: Anchoring supranational institutions in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1282-1306, August.
    3. Barnes Kelsey M. & Wilmarth Arthur E., 2016. "Explaining Variations in Bailout Policies: A Review of Cornelia Woll’s The Power of Inaction," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 5-30, March.
    4. Thiemann Matthias, 2016. "The Power of Inaction or Elite Failure? A Comment on Woll’s “The Power of Inaction”," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 31-45, March.
    5. Sieglinde Gstöhl, 2007. "Governance through government networks: The G8 and international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-37, March.
    6. Jun Zhang, 2008. "EU in ASEM: its role in framing inter-regional cooperation with East Asian countries," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 487-505, November.
    7. João Carlos Ferraz & Juliana Santiago & Luma Ramos, 2023. "Policy innovation for sustainable development: the case of the Amazon Fund," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 109-136, April.
    8. Paul Novosad & Eric Werker, 2019. "Who runs the international system? Nationality and leadership in the United Nations Secretariat," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-33, March.
    9. Mathieu Rousselin, 2012. "The EU as a Multilateral Rule Exporter - The Global Transfer of European Rules via International Organizations," KFG Working Papers p0048, Free University Berlin.
    10. Steven Langendonk & Edith Drieskens, 2024. "Chinese power in the World Heritage Committee: From learning the game to shaping the rules," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S2), pages 110-120, May.
    11. Naseemullah, Adnan, 2023. "The political economy of national development: A research agenda after neoliberal reform?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    12. Xueying Zhang & Yijia Jing, 2024. "A mixed funding pattern: China's exercise of power within the United Nations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S2), pages 121-134, May.
    13. Remi Maier-Rigaud, 2008. "International Organizations as Corporate Actors: Agency and Emergence in Theories of International Relations," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2008_07, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    14. Devon Reynolds & David Ciplet, 2023. "Transforming Socially Responsible Investment: Lessons from Environmental Justice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 53-69, February.
    15. Wolfe, Robert, 2013. "Letting the sun shine in at the WTO: How transparency brings the trading system to life," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2013-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    16. Max‐Otto Baumann & Sebastian Haug & Silke Weinlich, 2024. "From developing country to superpower? China, power shifts and the United Nations development pillar," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S2), pages 51-61, May.
    17. Baumann, Max-Otto & Novoselova, Anna & Surasky, Javier & Schönrock, Philipp, 2024. "The Group of 77 and global dialogue in the United Nations General Assembly," IDOS Discussion Papers 13/2024, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    18. Wischermann, Jörg & Bui The Cuong & Nguyen Quang Vinh & Dang Thi Viet Phuong & Nguyen Thi Minh Chau, 2015. "Under the State's Thumb: Results from an Empirical Survey of Civic Organizations in Vietnam," GIGA Working Papers 276, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    19. Khoury, Rana B. & Scott, Emily K.M., 2024. "Going local without localization: Power and humanitarian response in the Syrian war," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    20. Frank Biermann & Michele Betsill & Joyeeta Gupta & Norichika Kanie & Louis Lebel & Diana Liverman & Heike Schroeder & Bernd Siebenhüner & Ruben Zondervan, 2010. "Earth system governance: a research framework," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 277-298, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:glopol:v:15:y:2024:i:s2:p:18-28. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.