UN Challenges during Cold War

Core UN challenge during the Cold War

Trying to maintain international cooperation against ideological opposition between the superpowers

Article 27 UN Charter

All decisions of the Security Council must be made with "concurring votes of the permanent members" - basis of veto power

Veto statistics 1946-95

Vetoes used 244 times (29% US, 50% USSR); US and USSR opposed each other in 76.7% of votes

General Assembly Resolution 337A "Uniting for Peace"

1950 - allowed the General Assembly to consider a resolution blocked by the Security Council, overriding the Soviets on Korea

Soviet incompatibility with the UN system

UN attempted to bring the world together while Soviet ideology was rooted in the idea of "two camps" - communism and capitalism

US diplomat on Soviet UN membership (1946)

Claimed the Soviet Union's membership in the UN was "pragmatic and tactical" rather than utilitarian

Security Council resolutions after the Cold War

1991-93: SC passed 185 resolutions; in the past 46 years only 685 had been passed

UN and the Suez Crisis

UN Emergency Force dealt with the 1956 Suez Crisis

UN decolonisation success

80 former colonies granted independence since the UN was formed

Cold War escalation challenging the UN

Escalation of tensions presented challenges to international peace, e.g. the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

Rise of the developing world

The emergence of China and self-determination challenged the bipolar world order and forced the UN to consider a wider range of voices in its decision-making