United Nations

The authors ask which states condemned Russia at the UN and which imposed sanctions after the 2022 invasion, and whether regime type or trade relationships better predict those behaviors. Using an “opportunity and willingness” framing, the study compares democratic versus nondemocratic states’ propensity to issue substantive or symbolic condemnation and examines whether countries’ positions in international trade networks — including trade in fuels and dual‑use goods — predict who imposed sanctions. The paper reports results from multinomial logit models that use commodity trade data to distinguish fuels, dual‑use goods, and aggregate trade and evaluates whether close preexisting trade ties to Russia explain condemnation or sanctions.

This paper asks why North Korea—usually studied as a State Under Review—regularly issues human rights recommendations to other UN members in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and it shows that North Korea’s recommendations appear politically motivated. Using UPR records from 2008–2020, the authors argue that North Korea treats the UPR as a political forum: it ‘‘pats on the back’’ politically close states and ‘‘shames’’ politically distant or antagonistic ones. The study’s central contribution is to shift attention from North Korea as a reviewed target to North Korea as an active reviewer, and to document patterns in whom it praises and criticizes within the UPR.

Does United Nations peacekeeping protect civilians during civil wars? This article examines whether peacekeeping missions effectively prevent civilian deaths. While civilian protection is a stated goal of UN peacekeeping, evidence has been lacking.

When committees lack complete voting records, analyzing decision records becomes essential for understanding institutional outcomes. However, this study reveals significant limitations associated with relying solely on such data rather than full votes.

Civil conflicts vary dramatically in how quickly they reach the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)—some arrive within days, others take years or never appear. This study addresses the neglected question of what determines the Council’s agenda‑setting speed.

This study challenges conventional wisdom about peacekeeping missions by examining their effectiveness in reducing ethnic tensions following violent conflicts.

This study explores how financial tools wielded by the United States through regional development banks influence voting alignment at the UN General Assembly.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), conducted by the UN's Human Rights Council, demonstrates how international deliberative processes can foster cooperative responses from nations with questionable human rights records.

International actors often intervene before civil wars begin. This study examines how the UN Security Council (UNSC) uses diplomatic measures to prevent self-determination movements from escalating into full-scale conflict between 1960 and 2005.

The effectiveness of IMF lending across 53 African nations from 1990-2000 was hindered by a credibility issue.