U.S. Unilateralism at the UN: Why Great Powers Do Not Make Great Multilateralists
Author(s)
Holloway, Steven
Abstract
This article raises three questions: (1) Does U.S. behavior in the General Assembly confirm or unconfirm the claim of U.S. commitment to multilateralism? (2) Were the Reagan and Bush presidencies the beginning and end of unilateralism, or is this a more persistent phenomenon across Republican and Democratic administrations? (3) Can an alternative explanation for U.S. unilateralism be expounded based in traditional realist great-power theory? In this study, I question that fundamental characterization of both the hegemon (as a great power) and the middle and small powers. I also raise questions about the link between traditional realism and hegemonic stability theory. It has become common to assert that hegemonic stability theory is a realist theory. The evidence proves of US behavior not only demonstrates U.S. scorn for the UN but also risks delegitimizing multilateral institutions and multilateral behavior generally.
