ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the line of argument by looking at the role of the Security Council and the ways in which particular member states are utilising their power and influence. The question of the representative nature of the Security Council has become increasingly important, particularly in relation to the perceived legitimacy of peacekeeping operations. However, following the intervention in Iraq in 2003 it can be argued that the USA has squandered its soft power' and that this has led to a loss of legitimacy for the USA in the eyes of the council and the wider international community. Since September 11, 2001, the Council has also been the vehicle for swift and extensive powers to be asserted in the fields of counterterrorism and counter proliferation, at times acting as a kind of global legislature. According to David Bosco this legitimacy comes from a number of areas, representativeness, effectiveness, power, and procedural propriety.
