9/28/2015

A Moment for UN Security Council Reform - Council on Foreign Relations

A Moment for UN Security Council Reform

Author: Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program
November 8, 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama's surprise announcement of support for India's permanent membership in the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) is a bold foreign policy stroke. Beyond deepening the U.S.-India strategic partnership launched by the Bush
administration, it may help break the logjam that has kept the UNSC's permanent membership mired in the world of 1945.
The rationale for India's candidacy is obvious. The world's largest democracy with more than 1.2 billion people, India has a dynamic,
fast-growing economy, the world's fifth-largest navy, and an impressive army with a distinguished role in international peacekeeping.
India is increasingly at the forefront of efforts to police the global commons and combat transnational terrorism and, although not a
member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime, has established a strong record over the past decade in combating nuclear
proliferation. India, simply put, has the assets to become a bulwark of world order.
Indians, who have long regarded permanent UNSC membership as the holy grail of Indian foreign policy, are naturally ecstatic. What
Obama did not provide, however, was any strategy for bringing UNSC reform about. The president should follow up on his dramatic
announcement by launching a comprehensive plan for Security Council enlargement, based on clear criteria for permanent
membership.
The rationale for expanding the UN Security Council's permanent membership is powerful. To be effective and legitimate, the world's
premier watchdog for international peace and security must reflect the contemporary distribution of power, so that it enjoys the political
support (and draws on the resources) of the world's most capable states. The current list of "permanent five" members--the United
http://www.cfr.org/india/moment-un-security-council-reform/p23346

1/2

9/28/2015

A Moment for UN Security Council Reform - Council on Foreign Relations

States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France--is notable for its omissions.
The United States has geopolitical interests in expanding the UNSC's permanent membership. The time for a globally dominant state to
cede some power to rising ones is when it can still dictate the terms of the shift. As noted in a recent CFR workshop in New Delhi, the
United States can help relieve its strained resources (PDF) by sharing some of the privileges and burdens of global leadership.
Because immediate UNSC enlargement would be a gamble, Obama should declare U.S. support for a gradual approach to
expanding UNSC membership, based on clear criteria for membership (advocated in a forthcoming Council Special Report I coauthored with Kara McDonald: UN Security Council Enlargement and U.S. National Interests). These criteria would include a
demonstrated capacity to contribute to international peace and security, including contributions to the UN and membership in good
standing with major international security regimes.
Based on these criteria, the most logical candidates for permanent membership, in addition to India, would be Japan, Germany, and
Brazil--four great democracies. By setting such criteria, and winning support among the veto-wielding P5 for their application, the
United States can help ensure that candidates for UNSC permanent membership are prepared to accept not only the privileges, but the
weighty obligations of membership.

http://www.cfr.org/india/moment-un-security-council-reform/p23346

2/2