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Paper long abstract:

Driven by Stalin's interpretation of the "two-camps" theory, the Soviet Union largely avoided the UN's multilateral economic institutions and the normative foundations that underpinned them. Under Nikita Khrushchev however, Soviet diplomacy in the UN evolved in the tenor and scope of its interpretation of the international economic order, in ways that resonated with the South. It became a colorful rhetoric of anti-colonialism, resource exploitation and broader themes on trade. Khrushchev´s attendance of the 15th session of the General Assembly in 1960 marked an important phase of Moscow´s tenacity for pragmatism in the service of its economic interests.

Thus, this paper addresses a largely understudied aspect of the global economy by looking specifically at how the issue of natural resources was an integral part of this nexus. From this prism it will provide important context for the contesting stakes and the outcomes it triggered.

Notwithstanding the place of the Soviet Union as both a major natural resources producer and consumer, the current literature says little about how Moscow defined its interest and perceived its stake in the political economy of natural resources. Scholars routinely discuss the natural resources questions within the framework of the UN as a North-South dichotomy. By looking at the period 1960-1980 this paper highlights how Moscow's economic interest thrust it into a transient rhetorical alliance with the South, the significance of the positions it took and how the geopolitical imperatives of that period had marginal effects on eventual outcomes.

Hence this paper will argue Moscow found it in its interest to depart from Stalin´s narrow interpretation of the "two camps theory" by aligning with the South´s grievances with the international economic order. It addresses a central dilemma in how Moscow's interest in accessing natural resources from the South sometimes conflicted with the South's often diffuse range of interests. This study relies on archival documents from Soviet sources and the UN to explain the context of the complex intersection of Great Power interests, the development of the UN and the question of access, production and distribution of natural resources.