Examining E10 Strategies and Decisions: Sweden and Women, Peace and Security in the UN Security Council

Conventional wisdom dictates the ten elected members (E10) operate within the predominance of the five permanent members (P5) in the UN Security Council. Often also constrained by limited internal resources, many of the E10 need to ensure external support to promote their interests. In research, however, limited theoretical disaggregation exists on E10 strategies and conditions affecting their maneuvering to obtain influence. To address this gap, this article draws on existing research to form a framework and further inform this by using material from Sweden’s term (2017–2018) related to how Sweden sought to contribute to the progress of Women, Peace and Security. The article uses qualitative empirical material from thirty semi-structured interviews of Swedish diplomats, other Member States of the Council, UN officials, scholars, and civil society advocates. The utility of this framework demonstrates the efficacy of E10 power, thereby opening up new avenues for future research.