Success rate of countries running for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for the first time
By: Gunda Reire

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https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0148-y
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25143/socr.2026.011 | Journal eISSN: 2256-0548
Language: English, Latvian
Page range: 81 - 95
Published on: Aug 1, 2026
Published by: Riga Stradins University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year
Keywords:
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© 2026 Gunda Reire, published by Riga Stradins University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.