Abstract
This chapter explores who is represented in multilateral processes on disarmament. Drawing on five years of quantitative data concerning meetings of 13 international forums regarding weapons, it examines the marginalization of developing countries, certain regions, civil society, and women. The chapter examines how patterns of underrepresentation may impact on international processes, and how they might be addressed toward more equitable processes of change in this sphere in the future—including through reframing key issues in disarmament to address a wider range of interests using a humanitarian perspective. Focusing on recent meetings on nuclear disarmament, the author shows how overrepresentation of major military powers overrepresents policy positions upholding the status quo and underrepresents widely supported humanitarian perspectives.
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Notes
- 1.
Information obtained for Minor (2016) suggests these can be substantial, with the UK’s delegation to the 2015 review conference over four weeks costing £86,197, or £4310 per delegate on average. See p. 22.
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Minor, E. (2020). Addressing the Political Impact of Inclusion and Exclusion in Multilateral Disarmament Forums. In: Bolton, M., Njeri, S., Benjamin-Britton, T. (eds) Global Activism and Humanitarian Disarmament. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27611-9_8
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