The Reform of the UN Security Council: How to Balance Legitimacy and Efficiency

¹ Department of Philosophy, Law&Political Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 201418, China
² The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100032, China
³ Department of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China
⁴ Chengyue Jiang, Shanghai Pinghe School, Shanghai, 210206, China
⁵ Qingyang Deng, Thomas Jefferson Highschool, Saint Louis, 63127, The U.S.

^* Correspondence author email: daisydu1012@gmail.com

Abstract

With the development of multi-polarization in the world, the UN Security Council plays an increasingly important role in maintaining international peace and promoting international cooperation, which has attracted much attention from the academic and industrial circles. However, the current structure of five permanent and ten non-permanent members of the Council does not maximize efficiency and legitimacy, making it more difficult to resolve international conflicts on time. This article first has carried on the extensive search for relevant theories and finishing, and on this basis, using the survey method, literature research, interdisciplinary research method, qualitative analysis method, and other research methods. The goal is to balance the efficiency and the legitimacy of the UNSC, especially improving the council’s legitimacy. This paper draws the following conclusions: 1. Increase the number of seats on the Council by twenty-four (five permanent members, eight four-year renewable seats, and 11 non-permanent members) 2. It is impossible to abolish the veto completely, but permanent members should be urged to reduce the use of the veto through legislation. Given the political conflicts of interest and the complexity of revising the UN Charter, governments of all countries should promote internal negotiations as soon as possible, conduct in-depth dialogue and consultation on core major issues, clarify the principles and methods of reform, and determine practical solutions.