Channels of Power

The UN Security Council and U.S. Statecraft in Iraq

Häftad, Engelska, 2010

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When President George W. Bush launched an invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, he did so without the explicit approval of the Security Council. His father's administration, by contrast, carefully funneled statecraft through the United Nations and achieved Council authorization for the U.S.-led Gulf War in 1991. The history of American policy toward Iraq displays considerable variation in the extent to which policies were conducted through the UN and other international organizations.In Channels of Power, Alexander Thompson surveys U.S. policy toward Iraq, starting with the Gulf War, continuing through the interwar years of sanctions and coercive disarmament, and concluding with the 2003 invasion and its long aftermath. He offers a framework for understanding why powerful states often work through international organizations when conducting coercive policies-and why they sometimes choose instead to work alone or with ad hoc coalitions. The conventional wisdom holds that because having legitimacy for their actions is important for normative reasons, states seek multilateral approval. Channels of Power offers a rationalist alternative to these standard legitimation arguments, one based on the notion of strategic information transmission: When state actions are endorsed by an independent organization, this sends politically crucial information to the world community, both leaders and their publics, and results in greater international support.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2010-01-28
Mått152 x 229 x 19 mm
Vikt454 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor280
FörlagCornell University Press
ISBN9780801476372
UtmärkelserCowinner, 2010 Chadwick F. Alger Prize (Internatio

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PrefaceChapter 1. The Power of International OrganizationsIOs and Information TransmissionStatecraft and IOsThe United Nations and the Legitimation of ForceCase Selection and OutlineChapter 2. Coercion, Institutions, and InformationThe Politics and Costs of CoercionInstitutions and InformationCoercion through IOsTwo Pathways of Information TransmissionInstitutional Variation and the Security CouncilAlternative ArgumentsObservable Implications and Research DesignChapter 3. The Security Council in the Gulf War, 1990–1991Background and EventsChoosing (How) to InterveneSignaling Intentions to State LeadersTransmitting Policy Information to Foreign PublicsAssessing the Role of LegitimacyChapter 4. Coercive Disarmament: The Interwar YearsChanneling Power between the WarsThe Postwar HoneymoonCracks in the CoalitionThe Decline of UN InspectionsDesert Fox and Its AftermathThe Evolution of U.S. Coercive StrategyReviving Inspections: A Divided CouncilChapter 5. The Second Iraq War: Down the UN Path, 2002–2003From September 11 to IraqAppealing to the General AssemblyBack to the Council: Resolution 1441Renewed InspectionsA Second Resolution?Explaining U.S. MotivationsChapter 6. The Second Iraq War: Bypassing the Security CouncilWas It a "Unilateral" Policy?The Costs of Working through the UNSensitivity to IO ConstraintsRegional Options: Constrained Forum ShoppingInternational Reactions to Iraq 2003The International Political Costs of the WarChapter 7. Conclusion: How the Security Council MattersMultilateralism in U.S. Foreign PolicyBeyond the SuperpowerThe Security Council as a Political InstitutionAppendix: Selected Security Council ResolutionsBibliographyIndex

Thompson's books adds to the small but growing body of work addressing why powerful countries would channel foreign policies through IOs. A major strength of Channels of Power is that it pays serious attention to theory development, generating falsifiable hypotheses about state behavior and international reaction to activity at the Security Council. Channels of Power is very well written and researched and its an important contribution to the literature on international organizations and security policy.- Terrence Chapman (Political Science Quarterly)