Small State, Great Power? An Analysis of Norway’s Influence on the United Nations Security Council, 1979-80.

Abstract

This thesis is a contribution to the understanding of small state power in the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council has always been a prestigious organ of the UN, and Norway has served several times since its creation in 1945. Norway was elected to sit in the Council for the period from 2021-2022, and the debate on whether it was beneficial for a small state such as Norway to sit on the Security Council surrounded by great power was ongoing. Questions of what Norway would stand to gain and spend on such an endeavour were central. This thesis analyses Norway’s third term in the Security Council from 1979-1980. The focus is on how Norway managed to influence the Council and how allied interests played a part in determining what room for manoeuvre Norway had from case to case. In 1979 Norway entered its third term in the Security Council. Norway’s term on the Security Council from 1979-1980 was characterized by severe cases where Norway often had to take its allies’ interests into account. This thesis divides the cases in the Security Council into two categories where Norway’s allies had strong interests of their own and secondly where their interests were relatively weaker. The cases being examined where allies had strong interest are the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War and Israeli settlements in Arab areas. The second part of cases examined are the apartheid regimes in Southern Africa, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, and the Lebanese Civil War and subsequent UN peacekeeping mission though UNIFIL. Norwegian influence in the Security Council depended on three main factors: allied interests in the conflicts being debated, Soviet interest in conflicts being debated, and Norwegian self-restriction in cases where Norway was concerned about damaging its relationship with either the US or the USSR.