Identifying the Role of Developing Countries in the United Nations: Case Studies of India and Vietnam

Abstract

This article focuses on India and Vietnam’s participation in the United Nations (UN) as an example of a multilateral approach to assert influence in global governance. It highlights India’s role as the representative voice for developing countries in the Global South, asserting its key role in three aspects: institutional, leadership, and mediator within the UN. While having joined the UN later than India, Vietnam has actively worked to establish its role within the organisation. Thus, Vietnam has gradually shifted from a limited participating role to a more mediating one, increasingly asserting a ‘constructive role’, and is pursuing a leadership role within the UN.