This thesis attempts to evaluate the processes through which
members of the Group of Seventy-Seven manage to maintain the
coalition. The analysis is concerned with the management of
conflict within the Group and the development of cooperative
strategies. The analysis focuses on the operation of the
Group of Seventy-Seven in the institutional context of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Part One of the study consists of a detailed account of the
origins of the Group of Seventy-Seven. The concrete historical
circumstances which gave rise to the formation of the coalition
are assessed. Part Two attempts to evaluate the importance of
organisational characteristics for the development and maintenance
of unity in the Group of Seventy-Seven. We investigate the
salience of the UNCTAD framework for the development of persistent
patterns of group behaviour. We then examine the creation and
development of organisational structures and processes specific to
the Group of Seventy-Seven. The transformation of the Group from
a highly informal coalition to one with highly developed institutional
procedures and the influence of these organisational features
on coalition behaviour is analysed. Part Three of the study assesses
the extent to which the negotiating positions of the Group of
Seventy-Seven are affected by the existence of various cleavages
within the coalition. Two detailed case-studies provide the data
for an analysis of patterns of conflict and conflict management