Lecture 1c: The United

Nations: The UNSC and

chronology
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 Outline of Lecture

1. The UNSC and its evolution due to

A) The Cold War
 The Phases of the Cold War

1947 – mid 1960s (post CMC) – The first Cold War

Mid-1960s – 1979 – Détente (thawing of tensions)

1979 – 1988 – The second Cold War

1989 – 1991 The Cold War started to come to an end

1991 onwards - Post-Cold War

 The Phases of the Cold War

1947 – mid 1960s (post CMC) – The first Cold War

Frequent deadlocks.
The US also used the UN for its own Cold War purposes, intervening
in the Korean War under the banner of the UN in order to score
political points (to show the world that communism was being drive
back by the UN rather than the US.)
The US introduced the UFP in 1950 (Korean war) to overcome this
deadlock, making use of its effective majority in the United Nations
General Assembly to get its way. The US moved power away from the
UNSC to the UNGA for its own Cold War aims.
 The Phases of the Cold War

1947 – mid 1960s (post CMC) – The first Cold War

Frequent deadlocks.
Between 1946 and 1955, USSR cast the most no. of vetoes in the first
10 years, making it often seemed to obstruct the work of the SC.
 How to measure UNSC cooperativeness?

Peacekeeping operations (we will explain that in a

later lecture). For now, accept that the presence of
peacekeeping missions meant that the UNSC was at
least cooperating as under UN Peacekeeping
operations, under normal circumstances, could only
be authorised by the UNSC and no other organ (note
that there were exceptions to this).
 The Phases of the Cold War

Mid-1960s – 1979 – Détente (thawing of tensions)

High point of cooperation between the two

superpowers meant that both the UNGA and UNSG
were side-lined. Mid 1970s (1973-74)
Peacekeeping operations in the Middle East (UNEF
II and UNDOF) moved with unprecedented speed
due to this cooperation, with the UNSG being tasked
to handle the administrative details of the respective
peacekeeping forces.
 The Phases of the Cold War

Mid-1960s – 1979 – Détente (thawing of tensions)

In terms of the veto, by the 1960s to 1980s, the USA started

using the veto MORE often, due to the introduction of Third
World/Non-Aligned members, which were frequently anti-
US, in the SC.
 
At the same time, USSR started using the veto LESS due to
the corresponding period of détente or peaceful coexistence.
Due to the US vetoes, collective security issues were
sometimes diverted to the GA or the UN Secretary-General.
 The Phases of the Cold War

1979 – 1988 – The second Cold War

UNSC cooperation fell to an all time low. No UN

peacekeeping missions were initiated in this period.
 The Phases of the Cold War
1989 – 1991 The Cold War started to come to an end

The deadlock in the UNSC ended. Ties between the

superpowers were better due to Gorbachev.
Peacekeeping missions started to be sent out again.
Culminated in the intervention in the Gulf War of
1991 under the UN banner. No veto was cast in the
UNSC to prevent this from happening.
The then-UNSG was sent out as an errand boy to
Iraq to deliver the terms of withdrawal to Saddam
Hussein.
 The Phases of the Cold War

1991 onwards - Post-Cold War

For the first two years, after the Cold War, no vetos
were cast between 1991-93. There was a general
sense of euphoria that the UN could finally serve its
purpose since the Cold War had ended.
However, by the mid-1990s, the UNSC became
deadlocked again, with the West and Russia
disagreeing over conflict in the Balkans.
 Questions to consider
• How did the Cold War affect the fortunes of
the UNSC?
• Did the Cold War fatally affect the workings of
the UNSC, and by extension, the UN?
 A level exam questions
• To what extent did the Cold War restrict the
power of the Secretary General of the United
Nations from 1945 to 1990? (Sample Paper 2017)
• 'Change in the membership of the Security
Council made the UN more effective during the
Cold War era.' How far do you agree? (2018)
• How far did Soviet use of the veto in the Security
Council during the Cold War limit the power of
the United Nations? (2019)