| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Since the end of the Cold War, relations between the United States and the UN have oscillated between periods of friendship and friction. What accounts for the major changes in US-UN relations, especially in the realm of multilateral peace operations? This article argues that the two most significant turning points have come after the unexpected deaths of Americans: first, in Somalia when the William J. Clinton administration moved away from multilateral cooperation in UN peace operations, and, second, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that served to drive the George W. Bush administration in the other direction, toward the UN. In both instances, the administrations changed their positions from staunch multilateralism or unilateralism toward moderation. Under the Barack Obama administration, we can likely expect a continuation of moderate multilateralism.
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