Debates about the UN

Question 1

the UN is not obsolete and unnecessary: CAN BE REFORMED

Answer 1

Despite its imperfections it is absurd to suggest to the UN is totally unreformable

The operational and strategic approach to peacekeeping and the provision of humanitarian aid have both improved significantly in recent years and further reforms could undoubtably be introduced

For example UN agencies could be better coordinated for you and could confer legitimacy on international action rather than always implementing actually self and relationships between regional organisations could be strengthened

Question 2

the UN has been effective in maintaining international peace and security: UNSC SUCCESSES

Answer 2

the UNSC has been extremely active, approving peacekeeping operations, military intervention and sanctions across the world, many of which have been highly successful and effective

since its establishment, there has not been a World War Three and inter-state war has decreased considerably

it has worked hard to successfully secure peace in many different conflicts

in 1990, it was successful in peace-making when it mandated military action to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait and then authorised the establishment of UN safe havens within Iraq in 1991 to limit Saddam Hussein’s aggression towards his own citizens

another UNSC success can be seen in Sierra Leone (1999 – 2005) when UN peacekeepers successfully prevented the country relapsing into conflict while a peace agreement was put in place. UN soldiers helped to destroy thousands of weapons and disarm thousands of fighters, including child soldiers. Sierra Leone now provides peacekeeping troops of its own in Somalia

both of these cases illustrate that when the UNSC works together, it’s collective decisions and resolutions can be highly effective. Therefore, the UN as a whole can be said to be effective in maintaining international peace and security

Question 3

the UN has been effective in maintaining international peace and security: VETO POWER

Answer 3

veto use has become significantly less frequent which allows the UNSC to effectively maintain peace and security

since the early 1990s, veto use by the P5 has decreased has significantly. During the Cold War (1947 – 91), the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used. In contrast, only 12 vetoes were used in the UNSC between 1990 and 2003

this has allowed the UNSC to achieve a lot more in recent decades and since 1948, it has authorised around 69 peacekeeping missions globally

even when a gridlock does occur, this does not necessarily prevent the UNSC taking action. For example, it can subcontract military action as it did to US led forces during the Korean War and to regional bodies such as the African Union in Darfur – demonstrating that the UN is not always unable to act, it merely has to operate within the constraints of what its most powerful members perceive as their national interest

this makes the UNSC a more effective body in passing resolutions and taking collective action, suggesting that while the existence of veto power does pose some problems, the UNSC and the UN as a whole is still able to maintain peace and security

Question 4

the UN has been effective in maintaining international peace and security: UNGA

Answer 4

the UN General Assembly can be effective in maintaining international peace and security, especially when the UNSC is unable to act

in 1950, the United States initiated the landmark “Uniting for Peace” resolution. It states that if the UN Security Council “fails to exercise its primary responsibility” for maintaining international peace and security, the General Assembly should take up the matter itself and urge collective action

the assembly has acted on this resolution in a handful of instances, including the Suez Crisis of 1956.

in the UNSC, the UK and France used their vetoes for the first time to block a US resolution condemning the Israeli, so the UNGA took action and intervention by the UN in the crisis ultimately resulted in a cease-fire, troop withdrawal, and the establishment of the first UN Emergency Force, a peacekeeping force

Question 5

the UN has not been effective in maintaining international peace and security: UNSC FAILURES

Answer 5

the UNSC has failed to maintain international peace and security on many occasions

even when agreed, resolutions may not be implemented effectively which results in the UNSC failing to maintain peace and security

the UNSC resolution to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was largely ineffective and did not prevent future conflict. Syrian government forces were still using gas bombs against rebel forces and in 2017, a suspected government forces chemical attack took place in a Syrian town, killing at least 74 people and injuring around 550

peacekeeping missions have often been under resourced, leading such missions to be ineffective

this was the case during the Bosnian Civil War (1991-95) when peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN declared safe zone

in 1992, UN peacekeepers in Somalia were unable to defend themselves against a rebel attack and were forced to retreat. US troops attempted to rescue the situation by fighting back against the militias but this has disastrous results

these tragic failures suggest that the UN as a whole may not be effective in maintaining international peace and security

Question 6

the UN has not been effective in maintaining international peace and security: VETO POWER

Answer 6

the existence of the veto power poses major problems that essentially neuters the UNSC and means it often fails to maintain peace and security – the UN is severely limited by what its member states agree and disagree on

the veto has become the mechanism through which the rivalries of major powers are played out, making it difficult for the UNSC to take action to deal threats of aggression or threats to peace

during the Cold War, the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used

in recent times, the veto has also led to the problem of gridlock which involves the P5 using their veto powers to protect their national interests, meaning that the UNSC is often unable to act

the 1994 Rwandan genocide was not prevented precisely for these reasons, the P5 put their own strategic interests first and failed to agree on military intervention. UN peacekeepers were powerless to stop the genocide as the Council had not agreed on appropriate action to be taken and had not given the peacekeepers permission to intervene with force against the tribal fighters. As a result, up to 1 million civilians lost their lives in just over 100 days

this is also why there has been no effective UN intervention in Syria since the beginning of its civil war in 2011. There was a complete lack of consensus over Syria – the USA, France and the UK all aligned themselves with the Syrian rebels, while Russia and China consistently backed the Syrian government. Yet again, the UNSC was unable to act due to Russia and China vetoing any action, which illustrates the fact that the UN has not and cannot adequately maintain international peace and security unless the P5 agrees

Russia has used their veto power more than any other P5 member, including vetoing resolutions that would have allowed chemical weapons investigations in Syria, imposed sanctions, and referred Syria to the International Criminal Court

Question 7

the UN has not been effective in maintaining international peace and security: OTHER ORGANISATIONS HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE

Answer 7

this can be seen during the Cold War (1945-91)

a military standoff between the USA and USSR dominated the early decades of the UN

the UN was powerless to influence the conflict given that two permanent members of the UNSC were effectively at war with eachother

more influential during this period was NATO, which created a specific security alliance for the USA and its Western European allies, like-minded states that felt a shared threat

there was a military stalemate between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries, which secured stability and prevented Soviet aggression because an attack on a NATO member state was considered an attack on them all. The Soviet Union would essentially be waging war on all members of NATO, which it was unwilling to do as the two blocs of power were evenly matched in terms of military and nuclear power, so war between them would lead to mutually assured destruction

the NPT was also influential during this period in preventing a major spread of nuclear weapons beyond the Soviet Union and the USA

NATO also took a more effective role in Bosnian and the crisis was only resolved after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs, which led to the Dayton Peace Accords

Question 8

the UN has not been effective in maintaining international peace and security: CANNOT PREVENT STATES ACTING UNILATERALLY

Answer 8

the UN was largely side-lined during the War on Terror (2001-09)

the US government, under George W Bush, was determined to protect its national interests after the 9/11 attacks. It pushed for military action in Iraq but France and Russia indicated they would not support the invasion

but the US proceeded with military intervention in Iraq in 2003 without a UNSC Resolution

arguably, this intervention led to the rise of ISIS. As David Kilcullen, a counter-insurgency expert, said “we have to recognize that a lot of the problem is of our own making…. There would be no ISIS if we hadn’t invaded Iraq”

Russia decided to intervene in Syria unilaterally, without UN consent, with controversial military action in support of the Assad regime

this illustrates that the UN is often powerless to prevent unilateral action by member states which often leads to destruction and instability, as seen in Iraq, and suggests that the UN has not been effective in maintaining peace and stability

Question 9

the UN has not been effective in maintaining international peace and security: FACES NEW THREATS

Answer 9

the security challenges facing the modern UN are vastly different from those in earlier decades, they include the threat of nuclear terrorism, the problem of state collapse and the disruption caused by the spread of infectious diseases

the changing nature of war and armed conflict raises particular difficulties from the UN in its peacekeeping and peace-building roles. The rise identity wars and the links between civil strife, humanitarian and refugee crises and endemic crime make sustainable peace difficult to achieve

the UNAMID (UN Mission in Darfur) was ineffective because the UN was not mandated to infringe Sudanese sovereignty This case in Darfur shows how UN intervention to keep the peace and provide humanitarian aid can be blocked by an unwilling host government

a key challenge for the UN in the period since 9/11 has been the emergence of threats from non-state actors, particularly terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS

the UN was established to deal principally with security threats from nation states and has found it significantly harder, if not impossible, to counter threats from non-state actors

furthermore, civil wars have increased, even while inter-state war has decreased. The UN has been less able to respond to internal conflict, as it was designed to deal with inter-state conflict

Question 10

the UN has been effective in reducing poverty and promoting economic and social development: ECOSOC

Answer 10

o The UN plays a very important role in reducing poverty and encouraging development through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
o A major strength of ECOSOC is that it had advanced the principle that development should not be measured simply in economic terms. Instead, ‘human development’ needs to be understood much more broadly
o ECOSOC also coordinates the work of regional development councils and significant development agencies including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the UN Development Programme, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
o Agencies and organisations like this have been successful in reducing poverty and promoting development
o For example, the IMF and the World Bank were successful in maintaining the stability of the monetary system from 1945 to the 1970s, with economic growth rates and world trade both increasing, and post-war Western Europe reconstructed
o From the 1980s, they supplied loans with ‘conditionality’, to deliver long-term economic success and tackle poverty. Examples of success include Jordan, South Korea and Chile
therefore, the UN can be said to be highly effective in reducing poverty and promoting development as one of its main bodies is responsible for coordinating the work of such organisations

Question 11

the UN has been effective in reducing poverty and promoting economic and social development: UN GOALS

Answer 11

o The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (2000 – 15) and Sustainable Development Goals (2015 – 30) have also provided important global targets in the reduction of global poverty
o They have been a highly effective, coordinated international effort to tackle poverty, with considerable successes
o MDGs were powerful because it was the first time that human development objectives had been internationally agreed and a total of 189 member states and 23 international organisations committed to the goals, reflecting a huge international consensus
o The MDGs created the potential for the UN, member states and various NGOs to coordinate their development efforts on MDG priorities
o For the 15 years that these goals were active, many global and national aid budgets were aligned with the MDG priorities. In the first 5 years alone, foreign aid budgets doubled from $6 billion to $12 billion
o By 2015, the UN called the MDGs “the most successful anti-poverty movement in history” and there were definitely some clear successes
o For example, the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day (the definition of extreme poverty) decreased massively from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015 – over 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty
o Furthermore, the global number of child deaths under the age of 5 fell from 12.7 million to 6 million while the number of people with access to clean drinking water doubled between 1990 and 2015
o New HIV infections also fell from 3.5 million to 2.1 million, with 13 million people receiving anti-retroviral treatment in 2015 compared with just 0.8 million in 2000
o Previously, there had been no international coordination of this kind, demonstrating how effective and impactful the UN has been in taking steps to reduce poverty
o Moreover, the MDGs have now been followed by the SDGs, showing that the UN has renewed its commitment to reducing poverty and has increased its focus on sustainability

Question 12

the UN has not been effective in reducing poverty and promoting economic and social development: ECOSOC

Answer 12

o Critics point out that ECOSOC performance is poorly monitored, meaning that the UN is often ineffective in promoting development and reducing poverty
o According to Helen Clark, who headed the UN Development Programme from 2009 to 2017, ECOSOC has very little sense of strategic planning
o The body has also been criticised of being highly fragmented, with different agencies fulfilling the same role and competing for the same resources. This large number of development agencies operating in the same countries also means that their jurisdiction overlaps so much that accountability is blurred and delivery impeded
o Furthermore, the organisations that it is responsible for coordinating, such as the IMF and World Bank, may actually reinforce structural inequalities and perpetuate poverty
o For example, the World Bank encourages poor countries to produce cash crops like cocoa and coffee. This leaves developing economies dependent on developed-world markets and vulnerable to the TNCs that control the processing and distribution of such products
o Cash crop production also reduces the amount of land under cultivation to meet domestic food needs, which can lead to a continuing cycle of famine and poverty
o This suggests that the UN is not effective in reducing poverty and promoting development

Question 13

the UN has not been effective in reducing poverty and promoting economic and social development: UN GOALS

Answer 13

o When looking at specific regions, countries and genders, the success of MDGs was varied
o Sub-Saharan Africa had not met the MDG for extreme poverty reduction, as it is still 12.5% behind the MDG target
o By contrast, economic growth in China distorted the overall global figures, where it had contributed to a reduction in extreme poverty in eastern Asia, from 61% in 1990 to 4% in 2015 – success of MDGs is clearly not consistent and other factors have been responsible for some of the seemingly impressive MDG figures
o The UN also found that in 2015, women were still more likely than men to live in poverty and globally, women stilled earned 24% less than men – suggesting that the MDG to “promote gender equality and empower women” has not been adequately met
o Therefore, the UN cannot be said to be entirely effective in reducing poverty and promoting economic and social development

Question 14

the UN’s ability to achieve has been affected by the balance of power in world politics: UNIPOLARITY

Answer 14

o Unipolarity is a system of power involving a single hegemon. For example, the USA was the global hegemon between 1989 and 2001, following the collapse of the Soviet Union
o This balance of power increases the UN’s ability to achieve because less powerful states tend to be disinclined to use their veto power as they desire to avoid conflict with the hegemon
o This means that there is potential for the UN to be very active, especially regarding issues that the single major power favours
o During the period of post-Cold War unipolarity, the UN was very active, approving peacekeeping operations, military intervention and sanctions across the world, many of which were highly successful and effective
o For example, in 1990 IT was successful in peace-making when it mandated military action to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait and then passed Resolution 688 in 1991 which established safe havens in Iraq that were militarily guaranteed by no fly zones, which made it impossible for Saddam Hussein to ethnically cleanse the Kurds who had risen in revolt against him at the end of the first Gulf War
o Another UN success within the period of unipolarity can be seen in Sierra Leone (1999 – 2005) when UN peacekeepers successfully prevented the country relapsing into conflict while a peace agreement was put in place. UN soldiers helped to destroy thousands of weapons and disarm thousands of fighters, including child soldiers. Sierra Leone now provides peacekeeping troops of its own in Somalia
o Both of these cases illustrate that unipolarity increases the UN’s ability to secure peace and stability. Therefore, the balance of power can be said to affect the UN’s ability to achieve

Question 15

the UN’s ability to achieve has been affected by the balance of power in world politics: BIPOLARITY

Answer 15

o Bipolarity involves two major powers opposed to each other
o As seen during the Cold War (1945 – 89), this made it difficult, if not impossible for the UN to act because the two major powers in the UNSC were at war with each other
o In such a situation, the use of the veto becomes so frequent because it acts as a mechanism through which the rivalries of the two major powers are played out, which prevents the UN from being able to act – so much so, many issues are simply dealt with outside the UN system and the UN is essentially paralysed
o During the Cold War, the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used
o Many of these vetoes involved the blocking of other countries’ applications to be members of the UN. For example, Russia blocked Japan, considering it to be too subject to influence from the US, while US blocked Vietnam’s application after 1975
o Both states also blocked resolutions regarding their Cold War activities. The USSR vetoed resolutions on its actions in Hungary following the 1956 revolt, its 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and its 1989 invasion of Afghanistan. The US similarly blocked a resolution on its 1983 invasion of Grenada and on its activities in support of the Contra rebels in Nicaragua
o Thus demonstrating that the balance of power does affect the UN’s ability to achieve because bipolarity essentially rendered the UN powerless during the Cold War

Question 16

the UN’s ability to achieve has been affected by the balance of power in world politics: MULTIPOLARITY

Answer 16

o A system of multipolarity involves many world powers competing with each other
o Arguably this is the current balance of power, with a resurgent Russia increasingly challenging Western power, China soon to overtake the USA as the world’s largest economy, and the emergence of powerful non-state actors such as al-Qaeda and ISIS
o This has meant that agreement within the UN and UNSC has been difficult to attain, which often prevents the UN from being able to achieve
o Members of the P5 have wielded their veto power on numerous occasions to protect their national interests, meaning that the UNSC is often unable to act
o This is why there has been no effective UN intervention in Syria since the beginning of its civil war in 2011. There was a complete lack of consensus over Syria – the USA, France and the UK all aligned themselves with the Syrian rebels, while Russia and China consistently backed the Syrian government. Yet again, the UNSC was unable to act due to Russia and China vetoing any action, which illustrates the fact that the UN has not and cannot adequately maintain international peace and security in a multipolar system unless the P5 agrees
o Furthermore, a key challenge for the UN in the multipolar period since 9/11 has been the emergence of threats from non-state actors, particularly terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, which also challenges the UN’s ability to achieve
o The UN was established to deal principally with security threats from nation states and has found it significantly harder, if not impossible, to counter threats from non-state actors
o This demonstrates that within a multipolar system where several major powers have no qualms about challenging eachother, agreement is hard to secure and the UN often struggles to deal with the wide range of actors in such a system which affects the UN’s ability to achieve

Question 17

the UN’s ability to achieve has not been affected by the balance of power in world politics: UNIPOLARITY

Answer 17

o However, the period of unipolarity was not entirely effective and there were many failures
o Firstly, the P5 still put their own national interests above all else, suggesting that smaller powers were still willing to challenge US hegemony
o The 1994 Rwandan genocide was not prevented precisely for these reasons, the P5 put their own strategic interests first and failed to agree on military intervention. UN peacekeepers were powerless to stop the genocide as the Council had not agreed on appropriate action to be taken and had not given the peacekeepers permission to intervene with force against the tribal fighters. As a result, up to 1 million civilians lost their lives in just over 100 days
o Secondly, peacekeeping missions were often under resourced, leading such missions to be ineffective
o This was the case during the Bosnian Civil War (1991-95) when peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN declared safe zone
o Similarly, in 1992 UN peacekeepers in Somalia were unable to defend themselves against a rebel attack and were forced to retreat. US troops attempted to rescue the situation by fighting back against the militias but this has disastrous results
o These tragic failures suggest that unipolarity does not necessarily guarantee an increased ability to achieve and therefore, the UN is not always affected by the balance of power in world politics and will always have the same capacity to fail and succeed, regardless of the balance of power

Question 18

the UN’s ability to achieve has not been affected by the balance of power in world politics: BIPOLARITY

Answer 18

o Regardless of the bipolar balance of power, the UN has still been able to agree action in states and regions where the permanent members do not have a clear national strategic interest at stake
o The UN was not entirely ineffective during the Cold War – there were many UN peacekeeping operations in Africa and states of less geopolitical importance to the major world powers
o For example, UNIFIL was created by the UNSC in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area. The UN has achieved some success in maintaining a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah in Southern Lebanon
o During this period, the UN was also able to pass numerous resolutions with the support of all 5 permanent members of the UNSC
o For instance, in 1967 the UNSC passed Resolution 242 which called on Israel to withdraw from territory that it occupied in the Six Day War, including the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and West Bank. Although Israel has not complied with this resolution, it still demonstrates that despite bipolarity, the UN was still able to secure agreement among its permanent members and take action
o Therefore, bipolarity did not prevent the UN from achieving peace and security and the balance of power doesn’t seem to affect the UN’s ability to achieve

Question 19

the UN’s ability to achieve has not been affected by the balance of power in world politics: MULTIPOLARITY

Answer 19

o However, veto use has become significantly less frequent which allows the UN to effectively maintain peace and security, regardless of the multipolar balance of power
o Since the early 1990s, veto use by the P5 has decreased significantly. During the Cold War, the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used. In contrast, only 12 vetoes were used in the UNSC between 1990 and 2003, which has allowed the UNSC to achieve a lot more in recent decades
o For example, a UN peacekeeping force called INTERFET (the International Force for East Timor) was established to quell the violence and restore order after the independence referendum in East Timor. The UN then took control over East Timor with UNTAET (the United Nations Transnational Administration in East Timor) and under this supervision, East Timor’s independence was formalised in 2002 when it became a UN member state. UN peace-keepers were vitally important in easing East Timor’s transition to independence and democracy; indeed, without them it is quite likely that East Timor’s youthful population could have ended up in complete anarchy
o Furthermore, the UNOCI (The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire) was established as a peacekeeping mission in 2004, two years after a failed coup attempt led to Ivory Coast’s first civil war which split the country between northern rebels and troops loyal to then President Gbagbo. It was tasked with guiding the country to a presidential election, which took place in late 2010 with around 9,000 UN troops in place. When Gbagbo refused to step down as president, UN peacekeepers backed pro-Ouattara rebel fighters and helped restore legitimacy and stability after violence broke out. The operation ended in 2017, leaving behind a stable country on the path to economic development, with the annual average growth rate standing at 9 percent, as well as reconciliation, and sustainable peace
o These cases demonstrates that the UN is still able to act in a system of multipolarity which suggests that while multipolarity does pose some problems, the UNSC and the UN as a whole is still able to maintain peace and security
o This challenges the view that multipolarity reduces the UN’s ability to act because agreement is still being secured
o Therefore, the balance of power does not necessarily affect the UN’s ability to achieve

Question 20

the UN is obsolete and unnecessary: UN FAILURES

Answer 20

o For many, the chief problem with the UN is its ineffectiveness
o It is often seen as an irrelevant debating society and it is commonly pointed out that there have been more wars since the creation of the UN than there had been before
o The organisation is routinely side-lined as major world events unfold and it has failed to maintain international peace and security on many occasions
o Resolutions are often not implemented effectively
o For example, the UNSC resolution to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was largely ineffective and did not prevent future conflict. Syrian government forces were still using gas bombs against rebel forces and in 2017, a suspected government forces chemical attack took place in a Syrian town, killing at least 74 people and injuring around 550
o Peacekeeping missions have often been under resourced, leading such missions to be ineffective
o This was the case during the Bosnian Civil War (1991-95) when peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN declared safe zone
o In 1992, UN peacekeepers in Somalia were unable to defend themselves against a rebel attack and were forced to retreat. US troops attempted to rescue the situation by fighting back against the militias but this has disastrous results
o These tragic failures suggest that the UN may not be effective in maintaining international peace and security and can therefore be said to be obsolete as it often fails to achieve its main objective

Question 21

the UN is obsolete and unnecessary: VETO POWER

Answer 21

o The existence of the veto power poses major problems that essentially neuters the UNSC and means that the UN as a whole is severely limited and therefore obsolete
o The veto has become the mechanism through which the rivalries of major powers are played out, making it difficult for the UNSC to take action to deal threats of aggression or threats to peace
o During the Cold War, the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used
o In recent times, the veto has also led to the problem of gridlock which involves the P5 using their veto powers to protect their national interests, meaning that the UNSC is often unable to act
o The 1994 Rwandan genocide was not prevented precisely for these reasons, the P5 put their own strategic interests first and failed to agree on military intervention. UN peacekeepers were powerless to stop the genocide as the Council had not agreed on appropriate action to be taken and had not given the peacekeepers permission to intervene with force against the tribal fighters. As a result, up to 1 million civilians lost their lives in just over 100 days
o This is also why there has been no effective UN intervention in Syria since the beginning of its civil war in 2011. There was a complete lack of consensus over Syria – the USA, France and the UK all aligned themselves with the Syrian rebels, while Russia and China consistently backed the Syrian government. Yet again, the UNSC was unable to act due to Russia and China vetoing any action, which illustrates the fact that the UN has not and cannot adequately maintain international peace and security unless the P5 agrees

Question 22

the UN is obsolete and unnecessary: OTHER ORGANISATIONS HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE

Answer 22

o This can be seen during the Cold War (1945-91)
o A military standoff between the USA and USSR dominated the early decades of the UN
o The UN was powerless to influence the conflict given that two permanent members of the UNSC were effectively at war with eachother
o More influential during this period was NATO, which created a specific security alliance for the USA and its Western European allies, like-minded states that felt a shared threat
o There was a military stalemate between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries, which secured stability and prevented Soviet aggression because an attack on a NATO member state was considered an attack on them all. The Soviet Union would essentially be waging war on all members of NATO, which it was unwilling to do as the two blocs of power were evenly matched in terms of military and nuclear power, so war between them would lead to mutually assured destruction
o The NPT was also influential during this period in preventing a major spread of nuclear weapons beyond the Soviet Union and the USA
o NATO also took a more effective role in Bosnian and the crisis was only resolved after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs, which led to the Dayton Peace Accords

Question 23

the UN is obsolete and unnecessary: THE UN FACES NEW THREATS NOW

Answer 23

o The security challenges facing the modern UN are vastly different from those in earlier decades, they include the threat of nuclear terrorism, the problem of state collapse and the disruption caused by the spread of infectious diseases
o The changing nature of war and armed conflict raises particular difficulties from the UN in its peacekeeping and peace-building roles. The rise identity wars and the links between civil strife, humanitarian and refugee crises and endemic crime make sustainable peace difficult to achieve
o The UNAMID (UN Mission in Darfur) was ineffective because the UN was not mandated to infringe Sudanese sovereignty This case in Darfur shows how UN intervention to keep the peace and provide humanitarian aid can be blocked by an unwilling host government
o A key challenge for the UN in the period since 9/11 has been the emergence of threats from non-state actors, particularly terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS
o The UN was established to deal principally with security threats from nation states and has found it significantly harder, if not impossible, to counter threats from non-state actors
o Furthermore, civil wars have increased, even while inter-state war has decreased. The UN has been less able to respond to internal conflict, as it was designed to deal with inter-state conflict
o Has outlived its purpose and can no longer deal with current threats

Question 24

the UN is obsolete and unnecessary: UNREFORMABLE

Answer 24

o There is common agreement that the UN is in pressing need of reform, but such reform appears almost impossible to achieve, suggesting that the UN truly is obsolete
o One proposed reform is expansion of permanent membership of the UNSC but while some permanent members, like France and the UK, are more open to expansion, Russia, China and the US have been more cautious or directly opposed. It would take a whole lot of support to modify the UN Charter and to get all five P5 members to agree at the same time to restrict their own power
o Kofi Annan points out that vetoes cannot simply be taken way because this would require all 5 permanent members to agree to give up their powers, which will simply not happen. For instance, Russia would not do anything to dilute their own power as they still aspire to become a global superpower
o To make any reform to the UNSC, you need a ‘Charter Amendment’ which requires getting at least 2/3 approval from the General Assembly, which is hard enough anyway
o But if the amendment was to enlarge the UNSC to around 20 members, the General Assembly would probably insist on an even bigger enlargement to possibly 25 or 26 countries, which explains why most US officials are ambivalent towards proposing expansion of the UNSC because an expansion that big is a problem for the US
o This is because it would be much harder for the US to create blocking coalitions against resolutions it doesn’t like or winning coalitions for resolutions that it does. It may even lead developing countries to form a blocking coalition of their own and prevent resolutions being passed. The US may also be wary of expansion because they cannot be sure of how countries would behave on the UNSC, supporting or challenging them
o There is The Uniting for Consensus Coalition which is opposed to the G4 gaining permanent membership. This Coalition is made up of the regional rivals of the G4 – South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, etc. There is also the Africa Block which calls for at least 2 permanent members to be drawn from Africa. The existence of such groups makes reform to the UNSC seem unlikely as all of these groups are at loggerheads

Question 25

the UN is not obsolete or unnecessary: UN SUCCESSES

Answer 25

o Despite its flaws and failings, the world is a safer place with the UN than it would be without it
o The UN will never be able to prevent all wars and conflicts, and it would be unreasonable to expect it to do so, but it has succeeded on numerous occasions and most studies have shown that UN peacekeeping operations are more often successful than unsuccessful
o The UNSC has been extremely active, approving peacekeeping operations, military intervention and sanctions across the world, many of which have been highly successful and effective
o Since its establishment, there has not been a World War Three and inter-state war has decreased considerably, it has worked hard to successfully secure peace in many different conflicts
o In 1990, it was successful in peace-making when it mandated military action to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait and then authorised the establishment of UN safe havens within Iraq in 1991 to limit Saddam Hussein’s aggression towards his own citizens
o Another UNSC success can be seen in Sierra Leone (1999 – 2005) when UN peacekeepers successfully prevented the country relapsing into conflict while a peace agreement was put in place. UN soldiers helped to destroy thousands of weapons and disarm thousands of fighters, including child soldiers. Sierra Leone now provides peacekeeping troops of its own in Somalia
o Both of these cases illustrate that when the UNSC works together, it’s collective decisions and resolutions can be highly effective. Therefore, the UN as a whole can be said to be effective in maintaining international peace and security
o The UN General Assembly can also be effective in maintaining international peace and security, especially when the UNSC is unable to act
o In 1950, the United States initiated the landmark “Uniting for Peace” resolution. It states that if the UN Security Council “fails to exercise its primary responsibility” for maintaining international peace and security, the General Assembly should take up the matter itself and urge collective action
o The assembly has acted on this resolution in a handful of instances, including the Suez Crisis of 1956.
o In the UNSC, the UK and France used their vetoes for the first time to block a US resolution condemning the Israeli, so the UNGA took action and intervention by the UN in the crisis ultimately resulted in a cease-fire, troop withdrawal, and the establishment of the first UN Emergency Force, a peacekeeping force
o Demonstrates that the UN is an indispensable body

Question 26

the UN is not obsolete or unnecessary: VETO POWER

Answer 26

o Veto use has become significantly less frequent which allows the UNSC to effectively maintain peace and security
o Since the early 1990s, veto use by the P5 has decreased has significantly. During the Cold War (1947 – 91), the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used. In contrast, only 12 vetoes were used in the UNSC between 1990 and 2003
o This has allowed the UNSC to achieve a lot more in recent decades and since 1948, it has authorised around 69 peacekeeping missions globally
o Even when a gridlock does occur, this does not necessarily prevent the UNSC taking action. For example, it can subcontract military action as it did to US led forces during the Korean War and to regional bodies such as the African Union in Darfur – demonstrating that the UN is not always unable to act, it merely has to operate within the constraints of what its most powerful members perceive as their national interest
o This makes the UNSC a more effective body in passing resolutions and taking collective action, suggesting that while the existence of veto power does pose some problems, the UNSC and the UN as a whole is still able to maintain peace and security, suggesting it is not obsolete due to the existence of the veto

Question 27

the UN is not obsolete or unnecessary: OTHER PURPOSES OF THE UN

Answer 27

o The UN has succeeded in adapting and redefining itself in the light of new global challenges
o It has developed into the leading organisation promoting economic and social development worldwide and has also helped to shape the agenda as far as new global issues are concerned, ranging from climate change to gender equality
o For example, the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (2000 – 15) and Sustainable Development Goals (2015 – 30) have provided important global targets in the reduction of global poverty
o They have been a highly effective, coordinated international effort to tackle poverty, with considerable successes
o MDGs were powerful because it was the first time that human development objectives had been internationally agreed and a total of 189 member states and 23 international organisations committed to the goals, reflecting a huge international consensus
o The MDGs created the potential for the UN, member states and various NGOs to coordinate their development efforts on MDG priorities
o For the 15 years that these goals were active, many global and national aid budgets were aligned with the MDG priorities. In the first 5 years alone, foreign aid budgets doubled from $6 billion to $12 billion
o By 2015, the UN called the MDGs “the most successful anti-poverty movement in history” and there were definitely some clear successes
o For example, the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day (the definition of extreme poverty) decreased massively from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015 – over 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty
o Furthermore, the global number of child deaths under the age of 5 fell from 12.7 million to 6 million while the number of people with access to clean drinking water doubled between 1990 and 2015
o New HIV infections also fell from 3.5 million to 2.1 million, with 13 million people receiving anti-retroviral treatment in 2015 compared with just 0.8 million in 2000
o Previously, there had been no international coordination of this kind, demonstrating how effective and impactful the UN has been in taking steps to reduce poverty
o Moreover, the MDGs have now been followed by the SDGs, showing that the UN has renewed its commitment to reducing poverty and has increased its focus on sustainability
o This suggests that the UN is not obsolete as it successfully fulfils numerous objectives

Question 28

the UNSC is fit for purpose: UNSC RESOLUTIONS

Answer 28

• Firstly, the UNSC can be considered fit for purpose because it has been extremely active, approving peacekeeping operations, military intervention and sanctions across the world – many of which have been highly successful and effective
• The purpose of the UNSC is to secure peace and stability and since its establishment, there has not been a World War 3 and inter-state war has decreased considerably
• It has worked hard to successfully secured peace in many different conflicts
• For example, in 1990, it was successful in peace-making when it mandated military action to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait and then authorised the establishment of UN safe havens within Iraq in 1991 to limit Saddam Hussein’s aggression towards his own citizens
• Another UNSC success can be seen in Sierra Leone (1999 – 2005) when UN peacekeepers successfully prevented the country relapsing into conflict while a peace agreement was put in place. UN soldiers helped to destroy thousands of weapons and disarm thousands of fighters, including child soldiers. Sierra Leone now provides peacekeeping troops in Somalia
• Both of these cases illustrate that when the UNSC works together, it’s collective decisions and resolutions can be highly effective. Therefore, the UNSC is fit for purpose

Question 29

the UNSC is fit for purpose: VETO POWER

Answer 29

• On the other hand, veto use has become significantly less frequent which seems to indicate that the UNSC is fit for purpose and that the argument above may lack validity
• Since the early 1990s, veto use by the P5 has decreased has significantly. During the Cold War (1947 – 91), the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used. In contrast, only 12 vetoes were used in the UNSC between 1990 and 2003
• This has allowed the UNSC to achieve a lot more in recent decades and since 1948, it has authorised around 69 peacekeeping missions globally
• Also, even when a gridlock does occur, this does not necessarily prevent the UNSC taking action. For example, it can subcontract military action as it did to US led forces during the Korean War and to regional bodies such as the African Union in Darfur
• This makes the UNSC a more effective body in passing resolutions and taking collective action, suggesting that while the existence of veto power does pose some problems, the UNSC is still fit for purpose

Question 30

the UNSC is fit for purpose: MEMBERSHIP

Answer 30

• Nevertheless, the UNSC and its P5 is not intended to be a representative body so the argument that its membership means that it is unfit for purpose may not be appropriate
• It is about having countries that can significantly contribute and influence international peace and security. The other 10 non-permanent seats on the UNSC are for regional representation, which it does fulfil as it is a requirement for 3 members to be from Africa, 2 from Latina America, 2 from Asia and so on. Therefore, reform to the P5 in terms of regional representation is not necessary
• Likewise, the continued existence of the permanent powers is a way of ensuring the UN retains support from the world’s leading states. The enlargement or change to permanent membership of the could result in some of these powers withdrawing their support, as happened in the League of Nations, thus making the UNSC truly unfit for purpose
• As a result, it can be claimed that for now, membership is not a problem for the effectiveness of the UNSC as it is still fit for purpose

Question 31

the UNSC is not fit for purpose: UNSC RESOLUTIONS

Answer 31

• However, realists often argue that the absence of global war since 1945 has nothing to do with the UNSC and is more to do with the balance of terror that developed during the Cold War
• They may also suggest that even when agreed, resolutions may not be implemented effectively which suggests that the UNSC is not entirely fit for purpose as it often fails to secure peace and stability
• For instance, the UNSC resolution to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was largely ineffective and did not prevent future conflict. The Syrian government forces were still using gas bombs against rebel forces and in 2017, a suspected government forces chemical attack took place in a Syrian town, killing at least 74 people and injuring around 550
• Furthermore, UN peacekeeping missions have often been under resourced, leading such missions to be ineffective
• This was the case during the Bosnian Civil War (1991-95) when peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN declared safe zone
• These tragic failures suggest the UNSC is not fit for purpose

Question 32

the UNSC is not fit for purpose: VETO POWER

Answer 32

• Furthermore, the existence of the veto power poses major problems that essentially neuters the UNSC and suggests that it is not fit for purpose
• Firstly, the veto has made it difficult for the UNSC to take action to deal threats of aggression or threats to peace as it has become the mechanism through which the rivalries of major powers are played out
• During the Cold War, the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used
• In recent times, the veto has also led to the problem of gridlock. This involved the P5 using their veto powers to protect their national interests, meaning that the UNSC is often unable to act
• The 1994 Rwandan genocide was not prevented and there has been no UN intervention in Syria since the beginning of its civil war in 2011 precisely for these reasons – the P5 put their own strategic interests first and failed to agree on military intervention
• In Rwanda, UN peacekeepers were powerless to stop the genocide as the Council had not agreed on appropriate action to be taken and had not given the peacekeepers permission to intervene with force against the tribal fighters. As a result, up to 1 million civilians lost their lives
• Moreover, there was a complete lack of consensus over Syria – the USA, France and the UK all aligned themselves with the Syrian rebels, while Russia and China consistently backed the Syrian government. Yet again, the UNSC was unable to act due to Russia and China vetoing any action, which illustrates the fact that the UNSC is not fit for purpose unless the P5 agrees
• Russia has used their veto power more than any other P5 member, including vetoing resolutions that would have allowed chemical weapons investigations in Syria, imposed sanctions, and referred Syria to the International Criminal Court
• The underlying issue is that every country in the UNSC is there to protect human interests and the interests of humanity as a whole, but the P5 tend to protect their own national interests, often at the expense of human lives
• Subsequently, the UNSC is not fit for purpose

Question 33

the UNSC is not fit for purpose: MEMBERSHIP

Answer 33

• Finally, it can be argued that membership of the UNSC means that it is not fit for purpose
• Membership of the P5 reflects the great powers of the post-war period but no longer reflects the realities of global politics, rendering the body outdated
• Most notably, France and the UK have long since ceased to be the most powerful states in global politics, arguably being undeserving of their positions on the P5 and there have been arguments to replace them with Japan, Germany, India or Brazil
• Additionally, membership is not representative either. There is a clear regional imbalance, with no representation from Africa or South America among the P5, even though many of the most rapidly developing nations and emerging powers are from these regions
• Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN, argues that “it is indefensible today that Latin America doesn’t have a single permanent seat on the Security Council. India, with almost a fifth of the world’s population, doesn’t have a seat. Africa, with 54 countries, doesn’t have a single seat. Even Japan, the second largest contributor, does not have a permanent seat”
• As the UNSC is responsible for global peace and security, it needs to be able to draw on the capabilities and political support of the world’s most powerful nations. But a lot of the world’s most powerful countries are not members of the P5
• As Germany and Japan were defeated after WW2, it was clear why they did not have permanent membership. But they have since grown into extremely effective economies with some significant military power and it seems that they have stronger cases for permanent membership than France and the UK
• There’s also the questions as to why Western Europe should have two permanent members when Europe is moving towards a more common foreign and security policy, especially when there are much larger, more diverse continents without a single permanent member
• Arguably, a more representative and up to date UNSC would enjoy wider support and influence, helping to make it a more effective peacekeeping body
• But until reform, membership renders the UNSC unfit for purpose