In her new PRIF Working Paper, Franziska F. N. Schreiber examines the significance that Germany’s political parties attribute to the United Nations (UN) and its institutions. She developes basic recommendations for action to strengthen the UN’s standing in national policymaking amid the crisis facing international organizations. Her analysis of the party programs of eight political parties in Germany shows that the UN and its various international institutions – such as the Security Council or the Sustainable Development Goals – tend to play a minor role thus far. Against this backdrop, the paper argues for a stronger integration of UN institutions and programs, conceptualized as “multilateral mainstreaming”, and advises policital actors to show more commitment to the international law and the UN Charter.
Viewing political parties as actors that shape society, Schreiber examines the extent to which and the ways in which the United Nations and its institutions are incorporated into the programs of the six parties currently represented in the Bundestag, as well as those of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Responsibility (BSW). She finds that these make significantly more implicit references to the issues addressed by the UN – such as the international order or international law – without, however, intentionally referring to the UN and its institutions. While the implicit references suggest that the party’s position is, in fact, already in line with UN standards and goals, the absence of explicit mentions indicates that the UN is of little relevance and has little legitimacy for the parties’ ideological positioning.
Schreiber therefore formulates two key recommendations: First, the existing potential should be harnessed by embedding and anchoring the UN and its institutions more strongly in the rhetoric of future party programs. Rather than suggesting that the development of international rules could be left to other states, party-political positions could thus be presented as compatible with international norms, thereby gaining additional legitimacy. Second, the actors should commit themselves to international law and the UN Charter – as its central component – which, in turn, should be appropriately incorporated into the policy statements.
Such “multilateral mainstreaming” in longstanding documents such as party programs would offer an opportunity to present the UN as a tool for addressing global challenges – even at the national policy level. In light of the ongoing revision of three party programs by the SPD, FDP, and Die Linke, as well as parallel reform processes within the UN, this working paper sets out practical and normative cornerstones to counter the narrative depicting the UN as incapable of action.
The working paper is available for download (PDF, in German).
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