Transcript United Nations Security Council

Division or unification?
Devolution or Suprantionalism?
Devolution is the granting of powers from the
central government of a Sovereign state to
government at a subnational level,
Supranationalism government beyond or above the
state
supranational organizations: collections
of individual states with a common goal
that may be economic and/or political in
nature; such organizations diminish, to
some extent, individual state sovereignty
in favor of the group interests of the
membership.
The more states participate in such
multilateral associations, the less
likely they are to act alone in pursuit
of a self-interest that might put them
at odds with neighbors.
States cooperate with each other for the
following reasons:
• military
• political
• economic
Examples of Military
Cooperation:
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO)a cross-Atlantic
military
alliance/organization
An attack against one
is an attack against
all.
The growth of NATO was a major concern to
Russia, where this has become a leading
political issue. Russia’s sense of encirclement
on the Eurasian landmass has always been a
factor in Russian nationalism.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or
SCO is an intergovernmental mutual-security
organisation which was founded in 2001 in
Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Although the declaration on the
establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization contained a statement that it
"is not an alliance directed against other
states and regions and it adheres to the
principle of openness", many observers
believe that one of the original purposes of
the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance
to NATO and the United States and in
particular to avoid conflicts that would allow
the United States to intervene in areas
bordering both Russia and China
Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union,
formed in 2004. More a version of the United Nations
Security Council than a true military alliance.
South American Defense Council (SADC) of the Union of
South American Nations, developed form 2008. Full extent
of provisions yet to be agreed.
South Korea and the United States entered into a military
alliance following the Korean War.
Examples of political
cooperation:
• African Union (AU): a cultural alliance
to promote shared goals and resolve
disputes
• Arab League: a multinational alliance of
Muslim states in North Africa and Southwest
Asia.
The United Nations (UN) is an international
organization (supranational) whose stated aims are
facilitating cooperation in international law,
international security, economic development,
social progress, human rights, and the achieving of
world peace established at the end of World War II.
Over the past half century, the number of
sovereign states in the world has increased by
more than a hundred
It now includes 193 member states (not
including the Taiwan, Kosovo, or the
Vatican)
The United Nations is not a world
government; member states participate
voluntarily. Although member states do not
formally yield any sovereignty to the UN they
may agree to abide by specific UN decisions.
At the very least, the UN provides a place
for the nations of the world to have
dialogue.
In a world where free trade and marketbased development continues to grow,
the UN has successfully improved:
• problems of infant mortality,
• nutrition,
• education
• in many parts of the world.
The United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) is one of the principal organs
of the United Nations and is charged
with the maintenance of international
peace and security. Its powers, outlined
in the United Nations Charter, include
the establishment of peacekeeping
operations, the establishment of
international sanctions, and the
authorization of military action.
International Economic
Sanctions: penalties imposed by
one or several states on another
state to compel that state to
amend its behavior.
Economic sanctions include, but
are not limited to, tariffs, trade
barriers, and import duties.
The most famous example of an
economic sanction is the fiftyyear-old United States embargo
against Cuba.
Economic sanctions are
not always imposed
because of economic
circumstances.
For example, the United
States has imposed
economic sanctions
against Iran for years, on
the basis that the Iranian
government sponsors
groups who work against
US interests.
The United Nations imposed stringent economic sanctions upon
Iraq after the first Gulf War, and these were maintained partly as
an attempt to make the Iraqi government co-operate with the UN
weapons inspectors' monitoring of Iraq's weapons and weapons
programs. These sanctions were unusually stringent in that very
little in the way of trade goods were allowed into or out of Iraq
during the sanction period.
There is a United Nations sanctions regime
imposed by UN Security Council against all
Al-Qaida- and Taliban-associated
individuals.
The cornerstone of the regime is a
consolidated list of persons maintained by
the Security Council. All nations are obliged
to freeze bank accounts and other financial
instruments controlled by, or used for the
benefit of, anyone on the list.
List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1901 to 2000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_Security_Council_
Resolutions_1901_to_2000
There are 15 members of the Security Council,
consisting of 5 veto-wielding permanent members
(China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States)
2009 map
and 10 elected non-permanent members with twoyear terms.
One proposed measure is to increase the number of permanent members by five, which,
in most proposals, would include Brazil, Germany, India, Japan (known as the G4
nations), one seat from Africa (most likely between Egypt, Nigeria or South Africa) and/or
one seat from the Arab League. On 21 September 2004, the G4 nations issued a joint
statement mutually backing each other's claim to permanent status, together with two
African countries. Currently the proposal has to be accepted by two-thirds of the General
Assembly (128 votes).
The UN does not have its own army, so
the Security Council borrows forces for
each mission from the armies of member
countries.
Peacekeeping: nonaggressive use of
military force to help nations in conflict
reach a settlement.
The UN’s peacekeeping forces play a neutral
role, working to calm regional conflicts in
several ways. They can:
• go into an area of conflict as observers,
making sure agreements reached
between opposing sides are being
followed.
• provide a buffer between warring parties
by physically interposing themselves in
the middle.
• negotiate with military officers on both
sides, providing a channel of
communication.
• monitor cease-fires, supervise elections,
and provide humanitarian aid.
Despite problems, the United Nations’ peacekeeping
role has continued to grow, and its successes have
far outweighed its failures. In places such as East
Timor and Kosovo, for example, UN peacekeepers
have helped bring stability after upheavals in the
late 1990s.
More than 40,000 peacekeeping troops from
some 80 UN member states are serving in
Bosnia, the Congo, Croatia, Cyprus, East Timor, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Georgia,
Iraq/Kuwait, Kashmir, Kosovo, Lebanon, various parts of the Middle East, Sierra
Leone, and Western Sahara.
Why do some Americans hate and fear the UN?
The UN constrains the United States by
creating the one coalition that can rival U.S.
power—that of all other nations.
Gun control
Death penalty
System of measurement
The United States has a streak of isolationism
in its foreign policy that runs counter to the
idea of the UN.
Mulitlateralism: decision making
and participation by more than two
countries, parties, etc.
Unilateralism: one sided decision
making and participation.
Unilateralism may be preferred in
those instances when it's assumed
to be the most efficient.
Larger states often act unilaterally,
while the smaller ones may have
little direct power.
Multilateralism may involve multiple
nations acting together as in the
UN or may involve regional or
military alliances, pacts, or
groupings such as NATO.
Proponents of multilateralism argue that it would provide a country
with greater resources, both militarily and economically, and would
help in defraying the cost of military action.
However, with divided responsibility inevitably comes divided
authority, and thus (in theory at least) slower military reaction
times and the demand that troops follow commanders from other
nations.
Multilateralists argue that co-operations strengthens the bonds
between nations and peoples, paints the U.S. in a more
responsible and respected light, and reduces the risk of wildfire
conflicts by increasing the size and unity of the enemy such a
rogue nation would face.
“The Bush Doctrine" came to describe the
controversial policy of preventive war, which held
that the United States should depose foreign
regimes that represented a potential or perceived
threat to the security of the United States, even if
that threat was not immediate; a policy of spreading
democracy around the world, especially in the
Middle East, as a strategy for combating terrorism;
and a willingness to unilaterally pursue U.S. military
interests.
Debates about unilateralism recently came to the forefront with
the Iraq War. While over 30 countries have supported the U.S.
policy, some previous American allies, such as France, Germany
and Turkey, are not participating. Many opponents of the war have
argued that the United States is "going in alone" in Iraq without
the support of multilateral institutions—in this case NATO and the
United Nations.
Advocates of U.S. unilateralism argue that other countries should
not have "veto power" over matters of U.S. national security.
Presidential Candidate John Kerry received heavy political heat
after saying, during a presidential debate, that American national
security actions must pass a "global test".
This was interpreted by Kerry opponents as a proposal to submit
U.S. foreign policy to approval by other countries. Proponents of
U.S. unilateralism generally believe that a multilateral institution,
such as the United Nations, is morally suspect because, they
argue, it treats non-democratic, and even despotic, regimes as
being as legitimate as democratic countries.
Proponents also point out that the unilateralist policy of having the
United States control post World War II, Japan was more of a
success than having multilateral policies such as those used in
post war Germany. Japan took only 5 years before adopting its
constitution while Germany was divided into West Germany and
East Germany for 45 years and being controlled by the United
States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union before being
reunited.
Examples of Economic Cooperation:
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), is a cartel of twelve developing
countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran,
Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Its principal goals are to
• eliminate the harmful and unnecessary
fluctuations in the price of oil
• securing a steady income to the producing
countries
• Produce a regular supply of petroleum to
consuming nations,
• and produce a profit to those investing in
the petroleum industry.
UAE
OPEC's influence on the market has been widely
criticized, since it became effective in
determining production and prices. Arab
members of OPEC alarmed the developed world
when they used the “oil weapon” during the Yom
Kippur War by implementing oil embargoes and
initiating the 1973 oil crisis.
Escalation in oil prices caused severe
economic problems during the 70s
OPEC's ability to control
the price of oil has
diminished somewhat
since then, due to the
subsequent discovery
and development of
large oil reserves in
Alaska, the North Sea,
Canada, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the
opening up of Russia.
OPEC nations still account for
two-thirds of the world's oil
reserves, and, as of April
2009, 33.3% of the world's
oil production, affording
them considerable control
over the global market.
As early as 2003, concerns
that OPEC members had
little excess pumping
capacity sparked
speculation that their
influence on crude oil
prices would begin to slip.
Examples of economic cooperation:
Often called trading blocs: a type of
intergovernmental agreement, often part of a
regional intergovernmental organization, where
regional barriers to trade (tariffs and non-tariff
barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the
participating states.
NAFTA: The North American Free Trade
Agreement (Jan.1994) a free-trade area
between the U.S., Canada and Mexico;
provides for the tariff-free movement of goods
and products, financial services,
telecommunications, investment, and patent
protection.
The top three countries receiving California
exports in order are: Mexico, Japan,
Canada
The top 3 countries, in order, that sent
tourists to California: Mexico, Japan, Canada
Other economic trading blocs (not on test):
• The majority of the Caribbean island-states, with
Belize in Middle American and Guyana in South
American, are linked in the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM)
• Central American Common Market, with seven
members extending from Guatemala to Panama.
• The Andean Group: Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
• Southern Cone Community Market
• MERCOSUR: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and
Paraguay.
• ECOWAS: the Economic Community of West
African States.
• APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Council)
• CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States):
former republics of the USSR
The largest economic organization is the World Trade
Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to
supervise and liberalize international trade. The
organization deals with regulation of trade between
participating countries; it provides a framework for
negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a
dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing
participants' adherence to WTO agreements.
The WTO has 153 members, representing more than
97% of total world trade and 30 observers, most seeking
membership
World Trade Organization (WTO): sets up the ground
rules of international trade (tries to eliminate trade
barriers) suprantional in scope
The organization is currently endeavoring to persist with
a trade negotiation called the Doha Development
Agenda (or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001
to enhance equitable participation of poorer countries
which represent a majority of the world's population.
However, the negotiation has been dogged by
"disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk
commodities and countries with large numbers of
subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a 'special
safeguard measure' to protect farmers from surges in
imports.
LDCs argue the US and Europe
subsidize (give tax payer money)
their farmers making it hard for their
farmers to compete with such low
prices.
MDCs argue for open markets.
The best example of supranationalism is the European
Union: an economic and political union of 27 member
states.
Western European countries have increased
economic integration by:
• lowering and eliminating trade barriers
• allowing labor to move freely
• coordinating a common foreign policy
• creating a centralized fiscal policy (common
currency)
The population of 500 million inhabitants, generated an
estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5 trillion) of the nominal
gross world product in 2009. As a trading bloc the EU
accounts for 20% of global imports and exports.
European countries
have different
cultures but similar
Ideology:
• democracy
• rule of law
• market economy
Switzerland is not a member
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of
the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU). The
currency is also used in a further five European
countries and is consequently used daily by some
327 million Europeans. Over 175 million people
worldwide use currencies which are pegged to the euro,
including more than 150 million people in Africa.
The euro is the second largest reserve currency
as well as the second most traded currency in the
world after the U.S. dollar. As of June 2010, with
more than €800 billion in circulation, the euro has
the highest combined value of banknotes and
coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed
the U.S. dollar. Based on IMF estimates of 2008
GDP and purchasing power parity among the
various currencies, the eurozone is the second
largest economy in the world.
Euro-zone: The EU counties using the euro
U.K., Sweden, and Denmark do not use the
euro.
They worried that a shared European
currency would threaten their national identity
and governmental authority.
Expansion of EU:
• Under the rules of the EU, the richer
countries must subsidize the poorer ones
• Economically weak countries will become a
burden
Turkey:
Poor human
rights record
An
unspoken
sense
among many
that Turkey
is not
“European”
enough to
warrant
membership.
Problems in the EU:
• loss of local autonomy
• balance of power in the European Union.
• different ethnic traditions and histories of
conflict and competition.
• enthusiasm for the Union is not very high in
key countries (France).
Areas the EU and the USA disagree
• the U.S. farm bill
• steel tariffs
• the international criminal court
• global warming
• Convention against torture – jail inspection
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) any nonprofit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized
on a local, national or international level. ex:
Doctors without borders
Amnesty International
World Wildlife Fed.
Supernational organizations have become a reality
because the state system is an inadequate
instrument for dealing with world issues and
problems.
Interstate cooperation is so widespread around the
world that a new era clearly arrived.
Random TQs
Capital cities typically symbolize the
cultural and historic identify of their
countries.
When a country succumbs to devolutionary
forces, it divides along regional lines.
Political unity in the ancient world reached
its height in the Roman Empire
Boundaries were redrawn in much of
Europe after World War I according to
the distribution of languages
The Baltic Republics
• were independent between World Wars I and II
• have a well-developed economic base compared to other
former Soviet Republics
• have population majorities that are non-Russia
The main
cause of
civil strife
in Rwanda
stems
from the
Belgian
colonial
practice of
favoring
Tutsis
Two cities in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, are
controlled by Spain
The first widespread use of the nation-state
concept came in Western Europe.
A state is a good example of an organized
region.
The first states in ancient Mesopotamia were
city-states.
The Fertile Crescent
• followed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• extended from the Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean Sea.
• is another name for Mesopotamia.
Colonists from Holland (Dutch) and
Britain were the principal white settlers
of South Africa
The motives of European states in establishing
colonies can be summarized as gold, God, and
glory.
The world's smallest colony is Pitcairn.
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations
The most populous colony is ruled by the United
States.
The British created different government
structures for its various colonies to
help protect the cultures in their territories.
Colonialism created political and
economic structures that caused the
colonies to become dependent on
the imperial powers.
Europe emerged as the core of
the world-system because of its:
• economic system of capitalism
• rapidly growing population
• technological innovations
States try to gain and maintain advantages in the
world market:
They can do this in several ways:
• by manipulating markets (protecting domestic
manufacturers by charging taxes on imports, for
example)
• by regulating their economies (enacting laws that
help to establish stable labor markets, for
example)
• by creating physical and social infrastructures
(spending public funds on road systems, ports,
educational systems, and so on).
The problems experienced by Cyprus during
the past two decades include:
• a Greek-inspired military coup
• a Turkish army invasion
• an increasing spatial segregation of
Greeks and Turks
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, nearly
all Russians are clustered in Russia's western
regions.
Conflict is widespread in Africa in part
because European colonial powers drew
inappropriate boundaries.
With the end of the Cold War, economic
competition among regions has become more
important than military competition
Among the Azerbaijanis, Armenians, and
Kurds, the Azerbaijanis are the only group that
speak an Altaic language.
As a result of a 1979 Soviet invasion, what
country generated one of the world's largest
refugee migrations in Afghanistan
NAFTA is primarily a economic effort
The European Union is primarily what a
political and economic cooperative effort?
What distinguished the Russian Empire from other empires existing in the
nineteenth century was that it incorporated conquered
territories into the state (annexed)
The European
Union has
promoted
economic growth
in Western
Europe.
Members of the Council of Mutual
Economic Assistance (COMECON) were
also members of Warsaw Pact
Berlin Conference (1884-1885) laid out the colonial map of Africa
and tried to decrease the probability of war between European states
The United Nations is primarily a political
cooperative effort