Reforming the UN - or making the Security Council a security risk

The proposal emerges at intervals in response to an old and valid complaint : The world has changed substantially since the United Nations structure was created in 1945 and the five permanent Security Council members (China, Russia, France, the UK, and the US) were awarded their veto powers. In 1971 the seat given to Taiwan passed to the People's Republic of China when Taiwan withdrew from the United Nations as a result of its one China policy. During the 1980s proposals circulated to expand the Security Council's permanent members to include Germany and Japan because of their status as important global economic powers. In 1991 when the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Russia kept that seat. Soon after the transfer, the idea to expand the number of permanent Security Council members and the number of veto-wielding Council members circulated again, and again no action was taken.