The Security Council and Crisis Management - Einzelansicht

The Security Council is one of the most important international organizations. Consisting of five permanent members, the great powers equipped with a veto on all substantive questions, and ten elected members, the Council has wide-ranging powers to set binding international law for all UN members under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This seminar will examine the Security Council as an international ”high politics” institution through different theoretical lenses including both established and contemporary approaches. We will apply those perspectives to critically evaluate Security Council action in crisis management. This includes the fields of sanctions policy, peacekeeping, military and ”humanitarian” intervention and counter-terrorism. We will also cover the issue of Security Council reform, the debate on the Responsibility to Protect and the future of the Council in times of great power rivalry.

Please note: The first session will be in the second week of the semester (on 18 April). No class on 11 April!

Literature recommendations:

Lowe, A.V. et al. (eds) (2008). The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.

Einsiedel, S.v., Malone, D.M. & Stagno Ugarte, B. (eds) (2016). The UN Security Council in the Twenty-First Century. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Simma, B. et al. (eds) (2012). The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rittberger, V., Zangl, B. & Kruck, A. (2012). International Organization. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Bosco, D.L. (2009). Five to Rule Them All: The UN Security Council and the Making of the Modern World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.