Competition among the great powers has been intensifying in recent years. How does such competition influence the functioning of international organizations such as the UN? How does such influence manifest itself in the form of concrete events? Does the intensified competition among the great powers change the political dynamics among the member states in international organizations such as the UN?

Is it possible, on the other hand, for international organizations to exert influence on the competition among the great powers? How might the promotion of the reform of the UN Security Council affect the shape of great-power competition?

With these questions in mind, this project attempts to collect and analyze a wide variety of secondary research as well as memorandums and memoirs of policy-makers (such as current and former senior officials of the UN Secretariat, and diplomats of various states) that have been recently published in Japan and overseas. Based on such research, this project seeks to clarify the relationship between the competition among the great powers and the functioning of international organizations, and to draw implications for Japan’s multilateral diplomacy.

This research is projected to result in publications of various types, with initial results coming out in the form of book reviews and review articles.