so which are the 5 powers ITTL? UKE, France, USSR, Japan and Brazil?
Also, I assume the 5 powers are the recognized nuclear weapon states and permanent UN security council members like OTL. Which is the other non-NPT nuclear power ITTL?
Yep, those are the "Big 5" with India and China as the next 2. All 7 have permanent seats on the Security Council, with the "Big 5" being the NPT recognised nuclear powers, whilst India and China tested their nukes after their UNSC membership and the signing of the NPT, and therefore are non-NPT nuclear powers.
Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the seven permanent members and twelve elected, non-permanent members. Prior to 1966, there were six elected members, and prior to 1971 there were five permanent members, the victorious powers of the Second World War. After 1966, the number of elected members was expanded to ten, with each member holding their place on the Council for a two-year term, and half of these places contested each year.
At the UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the Empire of Brazil, the Kingdom of the French, the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United Empire. While the original five permanent members have in essence not changed since 1945, there has been one major seat change since then. After the reformation of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics was recognised as the legal successor and maintained its position on the Security Council. France's seat was originally held by Charles de Gaulles' Provisional Government until 1946 when it passed to the French Union until 1958 when the union collapsed. France maintained its seat as there was no change in its international status or recognition, although many of its overseas possessions eventually became independent.
The five original permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in the Second World War and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces ever since. They annually top the list of countries with the highest military expenditures, and they are also the only nations officially recognised as "nuclear-weapon states" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In 1971, the Federation of India and the Federal Republic of China were both granted permanent seats on the Security Council with veto power, as part of the detente period between Britain and the USSR, although Japan abstained from the vote on China's membership. At the same time the number of elected members was expanded to twelve, with an additional member for the Eastern and Western European groups.
Several conventions govern the election of the non-permanent members; one of the elected Commonwealth members is an African country; one of the African members is an Arab country; and the members of the Asia-Pacific group are elected one from the Middle East and one from South and East Asia. To ensure geographical continuity, a certain number of members is allocated for each of the
six UN geopolitical regional groupings:
- the African Group; 12 member states, with 2 non-permanent members
- the Asia-Pacific Group; 24 member states, with 2 permanent and 2 non-permanent members
- the Commonwealth Group; 47 member states, with 2 permanent and 3 non-permanent members
- the Eastern European Group; 20 member states, with 1 permanent and 2 non-permanent members
- the Latin American and Caribbean Group; 11 member states, with 1 permanent and 1 non-permanent member
- the Western European Group; 29 member states, with 1 permanent member and 2 non-permanent members
Reform of the United Nations Security Council has been an ongoing issue since the formation of the UN in 1945, with the two key issues being the veto power held by the permanent members, and the size and membership composition of the Council. In its history the Security Council has been expanded twice, the first in 1966 with the doubling of the number of elected members, and the second in 1971 when India and China became permanent members, with full veto power, and the addition of two new elected members.
One proposed measure is to increase the number of permanent members, which, in most proposals, would include the
G5 Nations; Capeland, Egypt, the European Union, Iran, and Mexico. Each of these countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN's establishment. Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members, however their bids are often opposed by their economic competitors or political rivals. All of the G5 nations support one another's bids for permanent seats, as do Japan, the United Empire and the Soviet Union. India supports Capeland, and China supports Egypt and Iran, although both countries have taken neutral stances on expansion of the Security Council, while Brazil opposes the membership of Mexico. Surprisingly, France opposes the potential addition of the European Union as a permanent member, with representation at the UN, as it would undermine France's pre-eminent role with the EU and likely result in France losing its permanent seat.