Join us to launch this new book "Inside the UN Security Council: Legitimation Practices and Darfur" published by Oxford University Press by our University of Technology (UTS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) academic Dr Jess Gifkins. Fellow FASS academic Dr Lai-Ha Chan will provide some introductory remarks, and Dr Jess Gifkins will present a brief outline of the book, followed by Q&A.

This is an event for anyone working in International Relations or interested in international politics or multilateralism. This is also suitable for Model United Nations student groups or International Affairs groups.

UN Security Council decisions impact billions of people and yet its formal rules are minimal and tell us little about how decisions are made. Instead, informal, and often unwritten practices, form the basis of negotiations. This book introduces and develops the concept of legitimation practices to analyse the UN Security Council’s decision-making.

This book demonstrates the impact of legitimation practices within Security Council decision-making, both in general and focused on the case of Darfur in the west of Sudan. Security Council negotiations on Darfur are analysed in depth to show how legitimation practices shape decision-making across issue areas of agenda-setting, sanctions, referral to the International Criminal Court, and peacekeeping. Foregrounding legitimation practices sheds light on seemingly contradictory moments within Security Council decision-making, such as the United States enabling the referral of the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court, despite longstanding objections to the court and the capacity to veto the decision.

The book draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including original interviews with key decision-makers, to show that legitimation practices are an integral aspect of Security Council negotiations.

Registrations commence at 3:45 pm for 4 pm start.