The United Nations Security Council and the challenge of political neutrality.

Abstract

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations (UN), an institution that was established to operate as an apolitical, administrative body that would, above all other obligations, maintain international peace and security. This thesis will primarily focus on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which has been given the supreme power to “determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression” and may also “take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.” The permanent members of the UNSC, who individually each enjoy the power to veto decisions made by the Council, are: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States (P5). There are also ten non-permanent members of the UNSC, who are elected for a rotational two-year term from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which comprises all 193 member states of the UN.