A highly commendable book for students and researchers alike, as it provides a systematically theory-driven analysis of a topic that has been under-researched until today, but that deserves the attention that it gets in this work. Indeed, the book shows why and when the role of Chairs should not be underestimated in the UN and potentially beyond.
Bart Kerremans, Professor of International Relations,
University of Leuven, Belgium
This is a welcome and important study of Chairs involvement in the UN negotiation processes. It is especially relevant for an era where multilateralism has thankfully proven to be in the ascendancy once again.
Oliver Richmond, Professor of International Relations,
University of St Andrews, UK
How multilateral negotiations within in international organizations are chaired is an important, yet neglected, topic. Blavoukos and Bourantonis have provided a great service for scholars and practitioners of diplomacy and international relations with this thoughtful and comprehensive investigation of how the Chair performs in a variety of cases taken from the UN.
Paul Sharp, Professor of Political Science,
University of Minnesota, Duluth, USA
Chairing Multilateral Negotiations
This book examines the important role of the chairmanship office in multilateral negotiations within the UN setting. Although chairmanship is a generic feature of international politics, negotiations and decision making, there has been minimal research. The neutrality and impartiality assumptions that have long been associated with the chair have veiled the Chairs potential in moulding negotiation outcomes.
The authors seek to develop an analytical framework for systematic study of the chairmanship office and its potential impact on multilateral negotiations. The book elaborates on the origins, parameters and conditions of the Chairs effectiveness, and the performance of the Chairs functions. Focusing on the UN, this work seeks to go beyond existing accounts, offering further insights and extending the discussion beyond the Security Council. Without ignoring the pivotal importance of the Security Council, the book broadens the scope of analysis to other significant UN bodies and institutions, including ad hoc working groups and several conferences set up for specific international issues.
Evaluating material from a wide range of sources and providing a deeper understanding of UN political dynamics, this work will appeal to scholars of the UN system, international organizations and global governance.
Spyros Blavoukos is a Lecturer in the Department of International and European Economic Studies at Athens University of Economics and Business.
Dimitris Bourantonis is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Athens University of Economics and Business.
Routledge Research on the United Nations
1 Chairing Multilateral Negotiations
The case of the United Nations
Spyros Blavoukos and Dimitris Bourantonis
Chairing Multilateral
Negotiations
The case of the United Nations
Spyros Blavoukos and
Dimitris Bourantonis
First published 2011
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2011 Spyros Blavoukos and Dimitris Bourantonis
The right of Spyros Blavoukos and Dimitris Bourantonis to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Chairing multilateral negotiations : the case of the United Nations / Spyros Blavoukos and Dimitris Bourantonis.
p. cm. (Routledge research on the United Nations ; 1) Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. United NationsLeadership. 2. Negotiation. 3. Diplomatic negotiations in international disputes. I. Bourantonis, Dimitris. II. Title.
JZ4995.B53 2011
341.3'7dc22 2010050589
ISBN: 978-0-415-49082-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-81395-9 (pbk)
To Polina and Lena
Acknowledgements
While preparing the book, we presented our main fi ndings and arguments to academic audiences in various conferences and workshops. We are indebted to all participants for their constructive comments and criticism.
Special thanks are due to the staff of all the libraries in which we have worked, in particular for the patience and kindly interest of the personnel at the libraries of the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Royal Institute of International Affairs, as well as the UN Information Offi ce in Geneva.
Some of our arguments and ideas have been aired in the discussion paper series on diplomacy of the Clingendael Institute of International Relations in the Netherlands, as well as in a special issue of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy which was exclusively devoted to the study of the chairmanship offi ce in multilateral negotiations. We would like to express our thanks to the colleagues involved for taking some time to read these relevant parts of our work and for offering us invaluable advice and suggestions.
Furthermore, we are grateful to Eleni Stavropoulou and Katerina Glynou for their assistance at various stages of the manuscript preparation. We would also like to put on record our appreciation to the publishers, in particular Craig Fowlie and Nicola Parkin of Routledge, not only for providing encouragement and overseeing the technical details of publishing but also for their understanding in the face of delay to the delivery date of the manuscript.
Finally, a word of thanks goes to our families for continuous support and encouragement, not to mention their patience throughout the time-consuming process of writing the book.
It goes without saying that responsibility for errors of fact and failings of judgment or interpretation lies solely and squarely with the authors.
Abbreviations
AU | African Union |
CCD | Conference of the Committee on Disarmament |
CIS | Commonwealth of Independent States |
COP | Conference of the Parties |
COP-6 | Sixth Conference of the Parties |
DPC | Defense Planning Committee |
EC | European Community |
ECOSOC | Economic and Social Council |
