Description
Book SynopsisThompson surveys U.S. policy toward Iraq, starting with the Gulf War, continuing through the interwar years of sanctions and coercive disarmament, and concluding with the 2003 invasion and its long aftermath.
Trade ReviewThompson's books adds to the small but growing body of work addressing why powerful countries would channel foreign policies through IOs. A major strength of Channels of Power is that it pays serious attention to theory development, generating falsifiable hypotheses about state behavior and international reaction to activity at the Security Council. Channels of Power is very well written and researched and its an important contribution to the literature on international organizations and security policy.
-- Terrence Chapman * Political Science Quarterly *
Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1. The Power of International Organizations
IOs and Information Transmission
Statecraft and IOs
The United Nations and the Legitimation of Force
Case Selection and OutlineChapter 2. Coercion, Institutions, and Information
The Politics and Costs of Coercion
Institutions and Information
Coercion through IOs
Two Pathways of Information Transmission
Institutional Variation and the Security Council
Alternative Arguments
Observable Implications and Research DesignChapter 3. The Security Council in the Gulf War, 1990–1991
Background and Events
Choosing (How) to Intervene
Signaling Intentions to State Leaders
Transmitting Policy Information to Foreign Publics
Assessing the Role of LegitimacyChapter 4. Coercive Disarmament: The Interwar Years
Channeling Power between the Wars
The Postwar Honeymoon
Cracks in the Coalition
The Decline of UN Inspections
Desert Fox and Its Aftermath
The Evolution of U.S. Coercive Strategy
Reviving Inspections: A Divided CouncilChapter 5. The Second Iraq War: Down the UN Path, 2002–2003
From September 11 to Iraq
Appealing to the General Assembly
Back to the Council: Resolution 1441
Renewed Inspections
A Second Resolution?
Explaining U.S. MotivationsChapter 6. The Second Iraq War: Bypassing the Security Council
Was It a "Unilateral" Policy?
The Costs of Working through the UN
Sensitivity to IO Constraints
Regional Options: Constrained Forum Shopping
International Reactions to Iraq 2003
The International Political Costs of the WarChapter 7. Conclusion: How the Security Council Matters
Multilateralism in U.S. Foreign Policy
Beyond the Superpower
The Security Council as a Political InstitutionAppendix: Selected Security Council ResolutionsBibliography
Index
