The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose purpose is to promote cooperation in aspects such as economic development, social issues, human rights, international law, and security. Founded at the end of World War II and with an original member base of 50 countries, it now encompasses 192 member states. The UN is divided into five principal bodies: the General Assembly (GA), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Secretariat, and the Security Council (SC). The General Assembly is generally considered the most important of these, as it includes all representatives from each member state, all of whom get 1 vote.
 
The real power, however, is usually considered to be held at the Security Council, for any decisions taken by it must be carried out under the UN Charter, whereas the GA has no power to enforce them. Security Council members are divided into Permanent and Elected Members. Permanent Members include the People’s Republic of China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK and the USA. Elected members encompass more countries and are divided among the rest of the world. The key difference between these two groups of members (besides the fact that one has permanent membership) is that Permanent Members have veto power.
 
Whereas it takes a majority of 9 out of 15 votes to pass a SC resolution, it only takes 1 veto to block it. The power of the veto is therefore immeasurably strong, and more often than not is has been used as a political tool. A stark example of this is the sheer number of vetoes that have been invoked in the history of the Security Council. If we go to the graphical version, we can clearly notice how the number of vetoes peaked during the Cold War. It is therefore clear that there is a correlation between vetoes and the international relationships in the world, which are reflected in the Security Council.
 
Although slightly outdated, the article “The veto and how to use it” in BBC gives a brief overview of the history of the use of the veto. Just like the USSR used its veto numerous times to spite the US, that fact that of the UK’s 32 vetoes, 24 have been alongside the US is no accident given their particular close relationship. And the fact that a mere French threat to veto a resolution declaring war on Iraq led to a strain in American-French relationship is another example of just how powerful a veto is. In “The Hidden Veto“, Céline Nahory argues how this type of approach (a veiled threat of a veto) can halt and put a stop to many initiatives.
 
It is no wonder many people want a reform in the veto system, especially those who don’t possess it. Not that non-Permanent members don’t also have their own ways of getting around it (this is how the Republic of China was replaced with the People’s Republic of China).  And although our article is more concerned with the veto in the Security Council, just being part of the Security Council is important enough for many countries.
 
At the much grander international scale, we can see that both game theory and network theory are at play. What’s more, interactions in the Security Council are very much like interactions between individuals, with payoffs and rewards- that is, they’re a game. Although more complex than say the Prisoner’s Dilemma, study in this topic (the domain of say, political scientists) can yield useful information. It is my belief that with proper tools one can conduct research on the SC (it is where world issues are discussed and solutions are settled upon, after all) and come up with some interesting papers.
 
For more information on voting in the Security Council and to read resolutions, visit http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scvote.htm