Veto Power: A License for Hegemony or a Tool for Peace?

6/1/2026

The UN Security Council: Guardians of Peace or Architects of Organized War?

(1) The Guardianship Illusion To consider the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and China as the ‘Guardians of World Peace’ is a profound delusion. From the Cold War to the current conflicts in Israel, Ukraine, and Syria, and extending to the instability in Venezuela, history proves that these nations are the primary actors behind wars, direct and indirect interventions, and the imbalance of power politics.

The Veto Power granted by the United Nations to these permanent members has functioned less as a tool for international peace and more as a monopoly on global power. In practice, the Veto has become a ‘blank check’ used to suppress weaker nations—a license to legitimise intervention based on their own geopolitical interests, while positioning themselves above international law.

In this sense, the permanent members of the Security Council are not impartial protectors. They are geopolitical players driven by dominance and self-interest. The privilege of the Veto has not fostered peace; instead, it has institutionalised and normalized inequality, injustice, and oppression.

(2) The South Asian Context and the Indian Ambition India is currently lobbying aggressively for a permanent seat on the Security Council. However, given the historical and practical patterns mentioned above, granting India permanent membership could become a matter of grave concern for its smaller neighbors.

If a state like present-day Nepal continues to languish in internal instability, institutional weakness, and a political vacuum, the risk of high-handed intervention—reminiscent of the aggressive tactics seen in polarized states like Venezuela—cannot be ruled out. When regional powers gain "permanent" international legitimacy, the sovereignty of smaller neighboring states often faces its greatest threat.

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