Leader Turnover, Institutions, and Voting at the UN General Assembly

Bibliographic Data

ID6283759
AuthorsAlastair Smith (0000-0002-5291-1442, New York University, New York, NY, USA, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume60
Issue1
Pages143-163
Publication date2016-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002714532689
OpenAlexW1989411791
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited40

Using evidence from voting in the UN General Assembly (UNGA), this article shows that leader turnover, especially in small coalition, nondemocratic systems, increases the likelihood of policy realignment. Autocrats who are beholden to only a small proportion of the population represent the foreign policy interests of their small number of supporters. When leader turnover occurs, the interests represented often shift too and this results in an increased volatility and regression toward a neutral position of a nation’s alignment at the United Nations vis-à-vis the United States. While such realignments can offer an opportunity to reduce enmity between states, they can also signal growing differences between friends. The impact of leaders change in large coalitions produces more moderate shifts in alignments

Econometrics · Economics · Foreign policy · General assembly · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Position (finance · Sociology · Volatility (finance · Voting · Demography · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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