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Begin New Search Publishing Institution Center on International Cooperation Author Richard Gowan

1. Pathways to Security Council Reform

Author:
Richard Gowan and Nora Gordon
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
International pressure for substantial reforms to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is mounting, fueled in part by its abysmal performance in the Syrian crisis. Yet major obstacles to reform remain. Three of the five permanent members of the Council (China, Russia and the US) are opposed or at least skeptical towards any significant changes to the institution in the near future. There is still a lack of common vision for change amongst the various coalitions and regional groups involved in the debate in New York, and policy-makers outside the immediate orbit of the UN address the issue sporadically, if at all. A concerted push for reform by the "G4" aspirants for new permanent Council seats (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) in 2011 did not result in a vote as it failed to elicit the required support of two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.1It is not clear that the current frustration over the Council's response to Syria can be translated into a concrete agenda for reform that could win a greater level of support in the immediate future.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, Japan, India, Brazil, and Germany

2. Building EU-UN Coherence in Mission Planning & Mandate Design

Author:
Richard Gowan and Thierry Tardy
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Just over five years ago, relations between the EU and UN were strained due to the difficulties of planning and implementing coordinated missions in Chad and Kosovo. Today, relations are considerably more cordial, but there is still room to improve the two organizations’ joint planning procedures. This paper aims to assess what has been achieved in the field of planning coordination and what the remaining challenges are; it also makes some suggestions for further action.
Topic:
United Nations and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Why Europe must stop outsourcing its security

Author:
Richard Gowan and Nick Witney
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The EU claims to be in the business of “crisis management” – ready if need be to make “robust” military interventions to control conflict, especially in its neighbourhood. In practice, it now prefers to “outsource” such interventions to others, notably the United Nations and African Union (AU), limiting itself to supporting roles. This is not just shabby; it also saps Europe's influence in a world in which European interests and values are increasingly contested. And it places too great a burden on organisations such as the UN and AU. Unless the EU rediscovers a willingness to bear the costs and risks of military operations to control conflict, Europe can expect everintensifying refugee pressure on its southern borders. Although military force will not help in Ukraine or the turmoil of the Middle East, the EU could make a big difference if it were prepared to do more in crisis management in Africa. The EU could contribute to or complement UN or AU efforts in a variety of ways. Responding to the crisis in UN peacekeeping, Ban Kimoon has ordered a review. New EU High Representative Federica Mogherini should do the same, involving outside experts in a stock-take of international efforts to control conflict to Europe's south and commissioning specific proposals to get the EU back to playing a properly responsible security role.
Topic:
Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, and Refugee Issues
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Ukraine, and Middle East

4. Pathways to Security Council Reform

Author:
Richard Gowan and Nora Gordon
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In this paper, New York University's Center on International Cooperation (CIC) seeks to explore potential pathways to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform. We begin with an overview of the current context, which has been characterized by increasing international pressure for Security Council reform. The Council's abysmal performance in the Syrian crisis has fueled the mounting pressure for reform, which includes the French proposal to limit use of the veto and Saudi Arabia's rejection of a non-permanent seat. We then offer a brief history and analysis of previous reform attempts; an explanation of global perspectives on the issue of UNSC reform; background on the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reform in New York; and an analysis of discussions on reform in and around the African Union.
Topic:
Security, International Security, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, New York, and Saudi Arabia

5. UN Peacekeeping: The Next Five Years

Author:
Richard Gowan and Megan Gleason
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This paper, commissioned by the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations, analyzes current trends in United Nations peacekeeping and makes predictions about the development of UN operations over the next five years (to 2017). It covers (i) the changing global context for UN operations and efforts to enhance the organization's performance over the last five years; (ii) trends in troop and police contributions; (iii) projections about potential demand for UN forces in various regions, especially the Middle East and Africa, in the next five years and (iv) suggestions about the types of contributions European countries such as Denmark can make to reinforce UN missions in this period.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, International Relations, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and Middle East

6. Security Council Working Methods and UN Peace Operations: The Case of Chad and the Central African Republic, 2006-2010

Author:
Richard Gowan and Alexandra Novosseloff
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This paper, the second in a series on Security Council working methods and the performance of peace operations, addresses the Council's engagement in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) from early 2006 to the end of 2010. While the Council explored options for deploying some sort of UN peacekeeping presence to these countries from mid-2006 onwards, these discussions were secondary to much higher-profile debates about the possibility of a large-scale force in Darfur. After Chad had stated its initial opposition to a UN military deployment, France initiated proposals for the deployments of an EU military mission linked to a UN police presence to Chad and CAR in mid-2007.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and France

7. A Memo to Ban Ki-moon

Author:
Richard Gowan and Bruce D. Jones
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Congratulations. You have not only won a second five---year term at the United Nations, but you also won with a minimum of fuss. In a month in which the Security Council has been rocked by disputes over Syria, all fifteen members backed you. Last week, the General Assembly gave you unanimous support.
Topic:
International Organization, United Nations, International Affairs, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States and Syria

8. The Obama Administration and Multilateralism: Europe Relegated

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Barack Obama's critics argue that he is a naïve believer in global governance. This is mistaken. When it comes to multilateral diplomacy, the President has proved to be a pragmatist and – suitably for a man with a reputation as a 'calculating' poker player, according to a 2008 article in The New Yorker – ready to gamble. In the last year, he has taken a bet that the US can lead a radical reorientation of international cooperation. This is based on three assumptions.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and International Organization
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Europe

9. Back to Basics: The UN and crisis diplomacy in an age of strategic uncertainty

Author:
Richard Gowan and Bruce D. Jones
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Conflict prevention is getting harder. In an increasingly complex international order, tensions between major powers complicate efforts to avert or mitigate civil wars. There has been a proliferation of potential mediators including regional organizations, individual governments and non-governmental organizations—often bringing specific expertise and political leverage to emerging crises, but risking duplication and turf wars. But while the United Nations is constrained by tensions among member states and challenged by the array of alternative institutions, it still has an important role in prevention. The UN has a unique “reach” into many unstable countries through its aid and development networks. Whatever the internal and external limitations on the UN, there is a widespread expectation that the Secretary-General and his officials can and should intervene in escalating crises, either to halt violence or at least to limit the suffering that it causes.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Civil War, Peace Studies, and United Nations

10. The Future of Peacekeeping Operations: Fighting Political Fatigue and Overstretch

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In the last sixth months, NATO and the UN have both confronted the possibility that their largest individual peace operations may fail. In Afghanistan, NATO troops have struggled to contain the Taliban. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the UN was unable to halt rebel attacks that displaced as many as 250,000 people last September.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, International Cooperation, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Taliban and Democratic Republic of the Congo