The game behind the vote – coalition building, sponsorship, and diplomatic strategy in the UN Security Council: Introduction

This special issue highlights how the current composition of the UN Security Council creates constraints and limitations but also reveals the influence of non-permanent members on Council decisions. Diplomatic skill, coalition-building, and cross-regional cooperation can help overcome representation inequalities and stalemates caused by permanent-member veto power. Our contributions show that, despite institutional obstacles, power dynamics, diplomacy, and informal alliances shape Security Council outcomes in practice, with both structures and strategies determining results. This may be even more important in an era characterized by geopolitical and geoeconomic volatility.