The references of the nations
Introducing a corpus of United Nations General Assembly resolutions since 1946 and their citation network
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3916203 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rafael Mesquita (0000-0001-6042-1606, Political Science Department, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil, corresponding author), Antonio Henrique Pires Dos Santos (0000-0001-5468-3407, Political Science Department, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1279-1291 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433241254997 |
| OpenAlex | W4401959663 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 28 |
This article introduces a novel corpus containing all resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from 1946 to 2019, the network of citations between them, and an online tool for exploring them. Resolutions adopted by the organization provide a valuable record of the evolution of multilateralism and political ideas on the global stage. Given that resolutions typically cite past ones, the resulting network of references offers a wealth of information on the UNGA's most relevant themes over time. This article applies network analysis to the corpus of approximately 18,000 resolutions and 77,000 citations, aiming to answer questions such as: What are the most cited resolutions of all? Are there thematic clusters? And can we delineate historic patterns based on themes prioritized? Our findings show that leading resolutions, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stemmed from the early years of the UNGA and created cores around which thematic clusters emerged. We conclude by listing highly cited resolutions and prominent clusters, while also conducting a descriptive exploration of how some of the largest clusters formed. The dominant clusters addressed human rights, development, decolonization and peace and security, and by monitoring their evolution we offer a new, data-intensive account of the interaction between these topics since 1946
Citation · Computer security · Data science · Forensic engineering · General assembly · Library science · Medical emergency · Operations research · Poison control · Political science · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Engineering · Human Factors and Ergonomics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Medicine · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance
L’Assemblée générale des Nations unies
A History of the United Nations
A History of the United Nations
Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks
Understanding state preferences with text as data
What Are UN General Assembly Resolutions for? Four Views on Parliamentary Diplomacy
Les évolutions de l'ONU
The UN at the peacemaking–peacebuilding nexus
United Nations peace initiatives 1946-2015
Parliament of Man
The Legal Significance of Re-Citation of General Assembly Resolutions
Conjuring Up New Human Rights
Precedent in International Courts
The United Nations ideology
The performance of international organizations
Introducing the Peacekeeping Mandates (Pema) Dataset
The Importance of UN Security Council Resolutions in Peacekeeping Operations
Deference and Hierarchy in International Regime Complexes
The Road Most Traveled By
Letting Go Without a Fight
The Politics of Precedent in International Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |