Foreign aid provision and election to the United Nations Security Council

Gary Uzonyi

doi:10.1177/01925121251398841

Foreign aid provision and election to the United Nations Security Council

Gary Uzonyi^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Government And Public Policy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

1 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Why are some countries elected to the United Nations Security Council, while others are not? This study highlights the role of money in elections to demonstrate that states that provide more foreign aid are more likely to be elected to the Security Council. The provision of foreign aid increases a state’s electoral chances through two mechanisms: (1) perceptions of good international citizenship, and (2) soft power influence. Econometric analysis of OECD official development assistance provision and all Security Council elections since 1960 provides strong support for the argument. The case of Turkey helps illustrate the mechanisms.

Original language	English
Number of pages	15
Journal	International Political Science Review
Early online date	29 Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121251398841
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 29 Dec 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

United Nations
international organization
foreign aid
elections
soft power

Access to Document

10.1177/01925121251398841Licence: CC BY 4.0

Uzonyi-IPSR-2025-Foreign-aid-provision-and-election-to-the-United-NationsFinal published version, 286 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

@article{ec4f7a26f9f74933a5fd4ac8699bb382,

title = "Foreign aid provision and election to the United Nations Security Council",

abstract = "Why are some countries elected to the United Nations Security Council, while others are not? This study highlights the role of money in elections to demonstrate that states that provide more foreign aid are more likely to be elected to the Security Council. The provision of foreign aid increases a state{\textquoteright}s electoral chances through two mechanisms: (1) perceptions of good international citizenship, and (2) soft power influence. Econometric analysis of OECD official development assistance provision and all Security Council elections since 1960 provides strong support for the argument. The case of Turkey helps illustrate the mechanisms.",

keywords = "United Nations, international organization, foreign aid, elections, soft power",

author = "Gary Uzonyi",

year = "2025",

month = dec,

day = "29",

doi = "10.1177/01925121251398841",

language = "English",

journal = "International Political Science Review",

issn = "0192-5121",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Foreign aid provision and election to the United Nations Security Council

AU - Uzonyi, Gary

PY - 2025/12/29

Y1 - 2025/12/29

N2 - Why are some countries elected to the United Nations Security Council, while others are not? This study highlights the role of money in elections to demonstrate that states that provide more foreign aid are more likely to be elected to the Security Council. The provision of foreign aid increases a state’s electoral chances through two mechanisms: (1) perceptions of good international citizenship, and (2) soft power influence. Econometric analysis of OECD official development assistance provision and all Security Council elections since 1960 provides strong support for the argument. The case of Turkey helps illustrate the mechanisms.

AB - Why are some countries elected to the United Nations Security Council, while others are not? This study highlights the role of money in elections to demonstrate that states that provide more foreign aid are more likely to be elected to the Security Council. The provision of foreign aid increases a state’s electoral chances through two mechanisms: (1) perceptions of good international citizenship, and (2) soft power influence. Econometric analysis of OECD official development assistance provision and all Security Council elections since 1960 provides strong support for the argument. The case of Turkey helps illustrate the mechanisms.

KW - United Nations

KW - international organization

KW - foreign aid

KW - elections

KW - soft power

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105025937605

U2 - 10.1177/01925121251398841

DO - 10.1177/01925121251398841

M3 - Article

SN - 0192-5121

JO - International Political Science Review

JF - International Political Science Review

ER -

Foreign aid provision and election to the United Nations Security Council

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this