ISAS Insights

Recently five smaller member-states of the United Nations – Singapore, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Jordan, and Liechtenstein – describing themselves as ‘Small Five’ or ‘S5’ sought to have a resolution adopted in the General Assembly. This was a modest effort at restraining the behaviour-pattern of the larger and more powerful Permanent Five or P5 of the Security Council – the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France – mainly with regard to their unrestricted exercise of veto powers. It failed. This was caused by a calibrated opposition from the major states and others opposed to Security Council reforms, particularly with regard to its expansion. India and Pakistan among South Asian nations played out their traditional rivalry, with India supporting the ‘S5’ initiative and Pakistan opposing it. There were lessons to learn from the story for the South Asian ‘others’ as well. The paper argues that sustained and persevered efforts would be necessary to bring about changes in a system naturally resistant to them, and a setback is not, and must not be seen as, a defeat.