Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security: analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly

Daniel Finke; Tobias Risse

doi:10.1017/psrm.2024.56

Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security: analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly

Department of Political Science

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

In this article, we explore the rhetorical space structuring the debates in the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) Committee on Disarmament and International Security. To this end, we unfold states' speeches by combining three established methods. First, we estimate terms' relevance for latent topics structuring the debates with structural topic modeling. Second, we estimate topic-specific positions based on the Wordfish algorithm. Third, we map these positions onto a lower-dimensional rhetorical space using principal component analysis. We identify two latent conflicts. First, a debate over conventional weapons with states emphasizing security interests on the one end and humanitarian interests on the other. Second, a conflict over weapons of mass destruction that divides defenders and challengers of the status quo.

Original language	English
Journal	Political Science Research and Methods
ISSN	2049-8470
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2024.56
Publication status	E-pub / Early view - 2024

Keywords

Disarmament
United Nations General Assembly
arms control
text analysis

Access to Document

10.1017/psrm.2024.56

Cite this

@article{b64feb1ac89443a4b605cce440f85051,

title = "Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security: analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly",

abstract = "In this article, we explore the rhetorical space structuring the debates in the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) Committee on Disarmament and International Security. To this end, we unfold states' speeches by combining three established methods. First, we estimate terms' relevance for latent topics structuring the debates with structural topic modeling. Second, we estimate topic-specific positions based on the Wordfish algorithm. Third, we map these positions onto a lower-dimensional rhetorical space using principal component analysis. We identify two latent conflicts. First, a debate over conventional weapons with states emphasizing security interests on the one end and humanitarian interests on the other. Second, a conflict over weapons of mass destruction that divides defenders and challengers of the status quo.",

keywords = "Disarmament, United Nations General Assembly, arms control, text analysis",

author = "Daniel Finke and Tobias Risse",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.1017/psrm.2024.56",

language = "English",

journal = "Political Science Research and Methods",

issn = "2049-8470",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

}

Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security: analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly. / Finke, Daniel; Risse, Tobias.
In: Political Science Research and Methods, 2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security

T2 - analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly

AU - Finke, Daniel

AU - Risse, Tobias

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - In this article, we explore the rhetorical space structuring the debates in the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) Committee on Disarmament and International Security. To this end, we unfold states' speeches by combining three established methods. First, we estimate terms' relevance for latent topics structuring the debates with structural topic modeling. Second, we estimate topic-specific positions based on the Wordfish algorithm. Third, we map these positions onto a lower-dimensional rhetorical space using principal component analysis. We identify two latent conflicts. First, a debate over conventional weapons with states emphasizing security interests on the one end and humanitarian interests on the other. Second, a conflict over weapons of mass destruction that divides defenders and challengers of the status quo.

AB - In this article, we explore the rhetorical space structuring the debates in the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) Committee on Disarmament and International Security. To this end, we unfold states' speeches by combining three established methods. First, we estimate terms' relevance for latent topics structuring the debates with structural topic modeling. Second, we estimate topic-specific positions based on the Wordfish algorithm. Third, we map these positions onto a lower-dimensional rhetorical space using principal component analysis. We identify two latent conflicts. First, a debate over conventional weapons with states emphasizing security interests on the one end and humanitarian interests on the other. Second, a conflict over weapons of mass destruction that divides defenders and challengers of the status quo.

KW - Disarmament

KW - United Nations General Assembly

KW - arms control

KW - text analysis

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85207380631&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/psrm.2024.56

DO - 10.1017/psrm.2024.56

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2049-8470

JO - Political Science Research and Methods

JF - Political Science Research and Methods

ER -

Multidimensional conflicts over disarmament and international security: analyzing speeches in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this