Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos presents a inside view of the UN Security Council from the perspective of a seasoned Indian diplomat. It shows how UNSC was manipulated by political & strategic self-interest and how it was even left marginalised the power play of modern geopolitics.
It was an exclusive lunch at a high-end Manhattan restaurant on 7 March 2011. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his entire A-team were present. It soon became clear that the main item on the menu was Libya, where it was alleged that the forces of Muammar Gaddafi were rapidly advancing on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to crush all opposition. Over an $80-per-head lunch, a small group of the world’s most important diplomats from countries represented on the Security Council discussed the possibility of the use of force, ostensibly to protect civilians, but in reality to effect regime change. As things turned out, the Council’s authorization came only ten days later and all hell broke loose.
Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s envoy to the UN at the time, reveals the Council’s whimsical decision making and the ill-thought-out itch to intervene on the part of some of its permanent members. In contrast, on Syria—which too was unravelling at the same time—the Libyan experience and differences within the Council led to a complete policy paralysis. The result, made worse by the earlier intervention in Iraq, has been the creation of the ISIS and the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
