Eaeu’s External Convergence on Global Issues: Evidence From the Un General Assembly Voting, 2000-2020

Abstract

This paper examines the voting behavior of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to find out their preference similarities on foreign policy issues. Based on a specific data set of UNGA resolutions from 2000 to 2020 and using two different indexes of voting cohesion, the present research addresses two empirically motivated questions: to what extent does the EAEU speak in unison externally in the context of UNGA plenary? And secondly, what was the impact the formation of the EAEU in 2015 had upon common foreign policy? The results reveal that the EAEU scores a “medium” level of cohesion as measured within the UNGA context which may indicate that members oftentimes speak with one voice while defections still occur on controversial votes. Besides, the findings suggest that no meaningful cohesion difference exists between pre- and post-EAEU periods. Finally, the study finds that the Eurasian nations are most cohesive on developmental resolutions, but least cohesive on security and human rights issues as expressed in their recorded voting behavior.