UN Wars, US War Powers

Pressure on traditional notions of US sovereignty are nowhere clearer than in the area of national security. In a number of areas, such as arms control, the Clinton administration has sought to achieve US foreign policy goals through multilateral international institutions. Pursuing national security through international organizations confers certain advantages for US policymakers, such as allowing the United States to act under the aegis of multilateralism, which submerges the prominence of US national interests and allows for the use of collective military resources. Acting through such alliances, however, raises policy and constitutional difficulties that pose problems for US notions of democratic accountability and the separation of powers.

This paper will address these issues by describing the impact of multilateral interventions, such as those in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Haiti, upon the US system of war powers.