GOVT-419 Linowitz Seminar: Small States, Big Ambitions, and the United Nations
Climate change, pandemics, the Ukraine conflict, the diminishing hope of peace in the Middle East, an increasing loss of confidence in the United Nations to end the scourge of war and advance peace. The world is entering a new age of uncertainty as it moves from the post-war geopolitical certainties. How can small states, comprising the majority of states, navigate, survive and thrive in this increasingly complex geopolitical environment? The course will examine: the groupings they form to influence the decisions of the permanent members of the UN and enhance their participation in the UN system; their quest for meaningful multilateralism to address pressing issues in the face of a UN with diminishing credibility; the impact and experience of small states at the UN in a politically fractured geopolitical landscape; the definition of a small state; and the challenges they face to make their voices heard and enhance their influence.
Seminar (12)
Credits
1
Prerequisite
Permission of the department
Notes
(International Relations; Comparative Politics)