Examining the Undemocratic Nature of the United Nations Security Council: An Analysis of Competing Call for Reforms

Abstract

This paper examines the democratic question in the United Nations (UN) as a global institution, particularly Security Council (SC). This concern dates back to the foundations of the UN and is responsible for persistent clamour for reorganisation of the global organisation. This paper argues that the composition of the Security Council is non-representative and undemocratic for the image and purpose of the United Nations as a democratic institution with regards for sovereign equality amongst nations. The paper demonstrates this by drawing attention to long and subsisting clamour by members of the General Assembly for reconfiguration and recalibration of the global body. The study invoked decoloniality as its epistemic guide and relied on secondary data as the basis of analysis. The paper is organised thematically to reflect different strands of clamour, as well as their convergence i.e. the Group of Four (G4), Uniting for Consensus, and the Ezulwini Consensus.

Keywords: United Nations, Security Council, Democracy, G4, Consensus, Ezulwini, Reform

DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/99-03

Publication date: April 30^th 2023