Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations: Global Governance Venue or Actor?

This chapter explores whether the United Nations (UN) is merely the principal site for engaging with the great debates and controversies of the day, as over Iraq in 2003, or is also an actor in its own right, with the whole—the international community collectively—being greater than the sum of the parts, the member states individually. It begins with a discussion of whether there is any such thing as "UN policy" within the larger context of global governance. The argument is then illustrated with two substantive examples: the issue of arms control and disarmament and the responsibility to protect (R2P) norm. R2P's state champion from start to finish was Canada, a country strongly committed to UN-centered multilateralism, with a history of close engagement with the world organization, political credibility in both the North and South, and a proud tradition of successful global initiatives. The United Nations has played three linked but analytically distinct roles as a funnel, forum, and font.