Small State and Middle Power Norm Diplomacy at the United Nations

Small State and Middle Power Norm Diplomacy at the United Nations analyzes the shifting diplomatic roles of Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, small states and middle powers with a track record as Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm entrepreneurs at the United Nations (UN), in times of world order crisis. Through systematically analysing diverse data, including UN speeches, policy documents, and interviews with diplomats, bureaucrats, and NGO practitioners, the book assesses the role of Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden in introducing and shaping norms at the UN between 1999 and 2022, and their ability to adapt their diplomacy to a changing global political environment. Comparing these four states, it explores the long-term shifts in diplomatic approaches and outlines how their diplomacy has changed over time. The book identifies typical patterns of foreign policy behavior, and differentiates diplomatic approaches, concerning small states and middle powers. Combining these insights on state categories with a constructivist lens on norm contestation discourses, it provides an innovative perspective on theoretical concepts. Small State and Middle Power Norm Diplomacy at the United Nations will be of great interest to students and scholars of International Relations, Politics, Diplomacy, and Conflict Studies.