US Politics and the United Nations: A Tale of Dysfunctional Dynamics

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It is no secret that the US variously pulls away from the United Nations and embraces it as a significant venue for policy initiatives. But what explains this dramatic inconsistency? What is the logic of US multilateralism? Alynna Lyon explores the puzzling waxing and waning of US support for the UN, tracing events, actions, and decisions from the end of World War I to the present. Lyon weaves together a consideration of international context, UN institutional dynamics, and US domestic politics to conceptualize and explain the trials and tribulations of the US-UN relationship. In the process, she tells the story of the progression of the US from a country committed to internationalism to one full of dysfunctional partisanship, ideological underpinnings, and domestic power struggles that undermine its capacities to cooperate on a global scale. Title Page Copyright page Dedication Contents Tables and Figures Tables Table 3.1 Organizations Favoring US Membership in a Postwar InternationalOrganization, 1944, Partial List Table 6.1 Requested and Authorized Contributions to International Organizations(CIO) and Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA),2001–2009 Table 6.2 UN Reform Proposals from Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1997–2006 Table 7.1 US Voting Record in the United Nations, 1988–2014 Table 7.2 Authorized Contributions to International Organizations andInternational Peacekeeping, FYs 1999–2016 Figures Figure 2.1 Qualities and Quantities of Multilateralism Figure 2.2 Determinants of Conditional Multilateralism Figure 4.1 US Public Opinion and the United Nations, 1951–1989 Figure 4.2 US Ratification of Multilateral Treaties, 1901–2010 Figure 5.1 Number of UN Peacekeeping Operations Created, by Decade Figure 6.1 US Discretionary UN Spending, 2000–2010 Figure 6.2 US Contributions for International Organizations andInternational Peacekeeping Activities, 1999–2010 Figure 6.3 US Public Opinion and the United Nations, 1990–2016 Figure 8.1 US Voting Coincidence in the UN General Assembly by PresidentialParty Affiliation, 1985–2014 Figure 8.2 Popular Support for US Cooperation with the United Nations, 1964–2014 Figure 8.3 Partisan Identification and UN “Good Job” Rating, 2000–2016 Preface Chapter 1- The Puzzles and Paradoxes of US-UN Relations The Pillars of American Power and US Multilateralism The Puzzles and Paradoxes of US-UN Relations Intermestic Politics, Surrendering Sovereignty, and Rhetoric vs. Reality Research Approach US Multilateralism and the UN: America’s UNdoing US-UN Relations and Global Governance Notes Chapter 2- Mapping Multilateralism Identifying Multilateralism:Strategies, Institutions, and Values Building a Theory: A Confluence of Contradictions Turning Inside Out: Domestic Politics and Multilateralism Notes Chapter 3- US Politics and the Founding of the United Nations The Irreconcilables and the League of Nations Forging a Path to San Francisco 1944 Presidential Elections and Partisan Politics “A Lasting Peace” Conditional Multilateralism and the Founding Notes Chapter 4- Drifting Apart and the Politics of Estrangement, 1945–1988 International Politics and Institutional Politics: The Cold War Stalemate The Credibility Gap: “Biting the Hand That Feeds You” The Carter Administration and the United Nations Reagan 2.0 Multilateral Moments International Dynamics and Domestic Politics:The Cold War Chill in US-UN Relations Notes Chapter 5- The 1990s: “The United Nations Has Become Fashionable Again” Multilateral Agendas and President George H. W. Bush “A United Nations That Performsas Envisioned by Its Founders” Clinton and “Assertive Multilateralism” Domestic Dynamics:The United States Seeks a Secretary, not a General The Second Honeymoon Is Over: Congress and US Arrears to the UN Civil Society and the Black Helicopters International and Institutional Factors: The Force Multiplier Notes Chapter 6- The George W. Bush Administration and “Stealth Multilateralism” The “Irrelevant Debating Society” and the Iraq War John Bolton at the United Nations: “There Is No United Nations” Stealth Multilateralism Congress: Politics, Payments, and Reform Civil Society: “US Out of the UN” and “UN Out of the US” Movements A Confluence of Catastrophes Notes Chapter 7- Barack Obama and the Rhetorical Return to the UN Libya and Muted Multilateralism The Human Rights Council Syria, the UN, and Chemical Weapons The P5+1, Iran, and the US Senate Defunding UNESCO US Multilateralism and the Paris Agreement International Dynamics and the Declining Hegemony Domestic Barricades: Framing the UN in Opposition Notes Chapter 8- Exceptional Americanism and the Essentials of Cooperation US Pillars of Power in International Relations The Institutional Context Presidents and Parties Congress The Public, Polling, and the Pundits Cowboy Idealism and Exceptional Americanism Implications for US Foreign Policy Future Prospects Notes Bibliography Index About the Book