Multilateral Leadership at the UN after the Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty introduces major reforms to European Union (EU) foreign policy coordination, particularly at the United Nations (UN) in New York. These reforms coincide with efforts to take a more strategic approach to the EU’s role on the world stage and improve its leadership. This study uses Oran Young’s typology of leadership to identify ways in which the EU and its Member States might implement the reforms of the Lisbon Treaty into the UN context more strategically, focusing on the various leadership roles the EU might pursue in the UN’s multilateral diplomacy. As the EU seeks to improve its performance in bolstering effective multilateralism, it must define how it wants to lead at the UN, and weigh the difficulties of making the necessary changes to pursue a more strategic approach to multilateral leadership.