Ethiopla s Role in the United Nations Security Council
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Date
2029-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the most powerful international institution in the
history of the nation-state system. It is predominately becoming an influential body in global
politics where member states are contributing their respective shares in copious world affairs. In
the case of Ethiopia, despite the fact that it had been elected three times as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council in the past; little is known about its roles, activities and
overall practices in the Council. In this respect, this study intends to explore the role of Ethiopia
in the UN Security Council, primarily focusing on its aspirations, voting behaviors and
rationales behind its votes on Security Council Resolutions. In addition, it appraises the basic
Security Council reform issues, and presents an assessment of the major reform proposals (the
2005 UN High Level Panel Report, the Group of Four and the Africa Union proposals) in line
with Ethiopia’s stances as well as its level of eligibility for a permanent seat in the Security
Council. To achieve the objectives of the thesis, the researcher employed a qualitative
methodological approach. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The
primary data were collected via key informant interview with higher officials, senior diplomats
as well as other pertinent experts in the area of the study, while the secondary data were
collected from books, journal articles, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs database, and
United Nations mission reports as well as internet resources. Since the data gathered are
essentially of qualitative nature, the researcher employed qualitative data analysis techniques.
The study argues that Ethiopia’s voting behavior is more or less consistent in regard to
protecting its national interest as well as promoting the African agenda, while it is partially
consistent as regards to global issues with its declared foreign policy. Furthermore, it pursues a
hedging position with the permanent members, cooperates with the elected members, and aligns
with fellow African representatives in the Council. The findings of the study revealed that
Ethiopia, as part of fulfilling its international responsibility, has adopted a strict legalist
approach to Security Council affairs. The country corporately supports the reform of the
Security Council, and also it has been found out to be leading, among the African comparator’s
group, for the aspired two African permanent seats in the Security Council. In conclusion, this
study highlights the importance of revising the existing foreign policy and framing a uniform
international legal behavior as well as well-articulated guiding principles. Generally, it has been
suggested that there are works yet to be done, including image building and diplomatic works
aiming at enhancing the role of the country in the UN Security Council
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Keywords
Ethiopia · Multilateralism · United Nations · UN Security Council · Security Council Reform · Voting Behavior · Resolutions