Summary:
- Recently, numerous deadlocks in the UN Security Council (UNSC) have led to paralysis, which has eroded the perceived legitimacy of the council in effectively responding to global crises.
- Russia’s role in these dynamics has come under scrutiny, specifically as a ‘loud dissenter’ to, and strident challenger of, Western views and perspectives.
- The popular perception is that African states on the council (the A3) have been strongly influenced by Russian (and Chinese) positions.
- However, through a statistical evaluation of UNSC voting patterns from 2014–2020, this policy insight is not able to support the notion of such influence on African voting patterns.
- UNSC voting pattern data from 2014-2020 suggests that Russia’s influence over the African grouping is often exaggerated or misplaced.
Click here to read the opinion analysis on this Policy Insight
