Conference Program

International Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) are key players in shaping the world order. IGOs influence different areas of the international order, such as in development, foreign policy, humanitarian aid and environmental concerns. The United Nations is a prime IGO whose influence spreads across areas of the international order. An observable influential area of the United Nations is unquestionable international peace and security. The organisation primarily utilises peacekeeping operations to influence peace and security, however, they have also faced criticisms for failing to deliver results. Although the United Nations is an actor on its own, the decision-making organs are comprised of member states. Therefore, decisions are highly likely to be influenced by states’ interests, especially the higher power states. These states' interests can be identified in multiple ways, two of the ways being the budgetary decisions as well as the impact of states’ behaviors regarding missions. To analyse the effects of budget and power, the facts of four past UN peacekeeping operations – Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Rwanda. These cases are divided into successes and failures, under the specific conditions of mandate fulfillment and limiting/prevention of violence. The study utilises primary sources published by the United Nations, such as reports, resolutions, publications, and letters. This study is interested in the impact that member states have on the decision-making process and during the deployment of a mission, which can be seen in the outcome of a mission. The study is also interested in the correlation between a mission’s outcome and resource availability.

The Last Review Conference of the NPT was an international failure. The setbacks in arms control, nuclear disarmament, and Russia's War of Aggression against Ukraine were central issues to this failure. However, the Conference had another issue to add more discord: the future nuclear-powered submarines of Non-nuclear Weapons States (NNWS). The AUKUS strategic partnership was at the heart of this issue. In this context, some questions arise: What are the main stances presented by the state parties to the NPT regarding the nuclear-powered submarines of the NNWS? How does this issue affect the Global Nuclear Order (GNO)? In order to answer these questions, a comparative analysis was carried out between the Working Papers (WP) presented at the Conference regarding how this issue compromises – or does not – the object and purpose of the NPT. So, the article was structured into two sections. The first presents the theoretical debate in which the research problem is inserted. The second section focuses on the Parties' stances – as presented in their WP - regarding the nuclear-powered submarines developed or operated by NNWS. Lastly, the results assess how these perceptions could affect the GNO.

In recent years, the Western Balkans have been a space of competition between the European Union and China. Both actors have been trying to shape the region according to their different visions of the global order. Through accession negotiations, Brussels supports and demands a rules-based approach, while – within the framework of the Global Development Initiative – Beijing promotes infrastructures, direct investments and trade as its preferred way to modernity. However, this simple picture tends to regard the Western Balkans as passive actors at the receiving end of external forces. Instead, countries in the region have agency. Of course, they pursue hedging, and they consequently adopt opportunistic behaviours following a rational-instrumental logic – with the objective of maximizing results –, but even this perspective runs the risk of oversimplification. By drawing on the literature dealing with institutions as networks, the paper argues that in building and conducting bilateral relations with the European Union and China, the Western Balkans themselves shape an environment whereby Brussels’ and Beijing’s incentives are not mutually exclusive. Governments have sometimes just a different (short-term v. long-term) timeframe for their (overlapping) objectives, or a different reputational risk/opportunity. In the future, as two-way relationships evolve, we might even see a relative convergence of the EU’s and China’s narratives on and in the region, combining rule-of-law with effective development.