The Diplomatic Lead in the United Nations Security Council and Local Actors’ Violence : The Changing Terms of a Social Position

ABSTRACT

Inspired by interactionist and constructivist sociology, this paper focuses on the United Nations Security Council as an arena with its own social rules and bureaucratic routines. It presents the informal position that security council diplomats delegate to specific members of the council, the position of “leader,” when dealing with specific dossiers. Indeed, a change occurred during the 1990s and the early 2000s in how council diplomats considered the task of leading a United Nations peace operation, notably in regard to the use of offensive military. The analysis of this change is documented with empirical material concerning the French leading position in the African Great Lakes region, from Rwanda in 1993 to Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003. A second instance of diplomatic leadership considered is the leading role assumed by the British authorities in Sierra Leone (1991–2002). The new “leadership” role calls on United Nations diplomatic leaders to better protect the credibility of “their” peace operations. It sheds a light on the importance of deterring or incentive messages embedded in routine security council decisions and how routine practices may change when facing critical situations.