THE ASIA-PACIFIC COLLEGE OF DIPLOMACY in association with the
INSTITUTE FOR ETHICS, GOVERNANCE & LAW, GOVNET and
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY
present

THE NEXT US PRESIDENT AND THE UNITED NATIONS: ANTICIPATION OR APPREHENSION?

Professor Ramesh Thakur
Distinguished Fellow

Centre for International Governance Innovation, Canada

and former UN Assistant Secretary-General

Wednesday 28 May, 6.00pm-7.00pm

Innovations Lecture Theatre, Building 124, Garran Rd , ANU
The Australian National University

This lecture is free and open to the public

In this talk, Prof. Thakur will examine the relationship between the United States as the universal power and the United Nations as the universal organisation through four critical themes: the use of force; peace operations; nuclear weapons; and climate change. Neither can dispense with the other, yet the dependence is asymmetric. The material capacity to deploy and use force at various trouble spots around the world is concentrated in the United States while the authority to do so is legally vested in the UN Security Council. The latter is the proper locus of authorising and legitimising the creation, deployment and use of military force under international auspices. Multilateralism remains important to US foreign policy and the US is the pivot of multilateral action in the maintenance of international peace and security. Because the US will remain the main financial underwriter of the costs of UN peacekeeping, it will continue to exercise unmatched influence on the establishment, mandate, nature, size, and termination of UN peace operations. The hard core of the negotiations to freeze and dismantle nuclear stockpiles, abolish nuclear weapons and place the nuclear fuel cycle under international control will be conducted among the nine nuclear powers directly. But they can draw on world moral authority by UN endorsement and give it depositary, monitoring and enforcement roles. On climate change, finally, Washington and the UN will have to work the most cooperatively in order to convert the formula of common but differentiated responsibility into meaningful and urgent action to slow, halt and reverse global warming. During the primary campaign, Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama showed interesting differences in their positions on these four issues as an anticipatory guide to how their administrations might frame policies.

For further information, please contact:
Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy,
T: 6125 7983,
E: ExecutiveOfficer.APCD@anu.edu.au

No RSVP required