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Introduction to International Organisations > EU and regional IOs > Flashcards

EU and regional IOs Flashcards

1
Q

Examples of regional IOs

A

AU - African Union
ASEAN
OAS
Council of Europe
NATO
European Union

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2
Q

What is a region
- two approaches

A

Classic approach: Geographic proximity

constructivist idea: countries that share a specific set of ideas, norms, values or identity, and consider themselves belonging to the same region
- (e.g. the Global West and Global South)

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3
Q

intergovernmentalism vs. supranationalism

A

depth of regional IOs can be intergovernmental or supranational

intergovernmentalism = interaction among states which takes place on the basis of sovereign independence
- pooling of sovereignty: they don’t give it up

supranationalism: an authority that is higher than that of the nation-state and capable of imposing its will on it
- delegation of sovereignty from states to supranational authority

regional organizations usually don’t fit under just one of these forms, they have aspects of both

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4
Q

regionalism and the economy
- Heywood

different levels of integration (5)

A

low integration
- free trade agreement: an agreement between trading partners to lower or completely take away tariffs and other trade barriers
- customs union: free trade area with a common external tariff
- common/internal market: free movement of goods, services and capital
- economic union: a common/internal market and far reaching cooperation on economic and monetary policy
- economic and monetary/currency union: common market and a common currency
high integration

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5
Q

regionalism and security

A

1) Security community: highly integrated form of collective security cooperation
- armed conflict between parties of that treaty/agreement/regional IO is unattainable (e.g. transatlantic security community)

2) collective defense: prevent and/or defend against an external attack (e.g. NATO)

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6
Q

theories of regionalism
+ problems

A

IR theories can give us insights, but there is also a separate strand of theories specifically designed for regional relations.

federalism
functionalism
neofunctionalism
*these aren’t the only ones

these are based on European integration (eurocentric focus) -> possible limited applicability to other regions

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7
Q

federalism

A
  • first theory

integration takes place in big steps

substantive integration steps through treaties; creation of a supranational authority as end point
- goal of integration is a supranational authority

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8
Q

functionalism

A

incremental steps towards integration
- form follows function: form of the IO is based on the needs of the states

we don’t see substantive integration, states take small, specific steps.

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9
Q

neofunctionalism

A

incremental steps + spill over effects
cooperation in one area will lead to cooperation in other fields (with higher politics matter)
- e.g. economic (low politics) -> security (high politics)

*with non-western regionalism this might be the other way around: political cooperation/will -> economic integration

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10
Q

OAS
basic facts (4)

A

The Organization of American States
established in 1948
located in Washington DC
membership: 35 (Cuba was suspended for quite some decades)
*connects North and South America

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11
Q

OAS Charter
- goals of the OAS

A
  • to strengthen peace and security of the continent
  • to promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention
  • to prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the member states (security: prevent war)
  • to end extreme poverty (economic/development aspect)
    limitation of conventional weapons to enable economic and social development
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12
Q

OAS security/defense?

A

collective defense mechanism: Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (‘Rio Treaty 1947)
- parties agree that an armed attack on an American state shall be considered as an act of offense against all the American States

*NATO was inspired by this

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13
Q

OAS structure
5

A

complex structure with lots of different bodies constituted in different ways

General Assembly
Permanent Council of the Organization
Inter-American Commission On Human Rights
Permanent Council of the Organization
Inter-American Court on Human Rights

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14
Q

OAS General Assembly

A
  • plenary body
  • highest decision-making +policy-making organ
  • meets annually
  • decides on budget
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15
Q

OAS Permanent Council of the Organization

A
  • executive organ
  • regular basis, day-to-day tasks
  • prepares for the GA
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16
Q

OAS Inter-American Commission On Human Rights

A
  • commission that takes individual complaints (civilians can complain about human rights violations by member states of the OAS)
  • members elected for 4 years by the GA
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17
Q

OAS Inter-American Court on Human Rights

A
  • end 1970s
  • not directly connected to the OAS headquarters
  • implies on all American States that ratified the Convention on Human Rights (not all OAS members)
  • takes cases from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or from a state party (not individual complaints)

has done influential work
- e.g. Venezuela

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18
Q

Association of Southeast Asian Nations
basic facts
- year
- members
- headquarters
- motivation
- objectives
- Charter

A

1967
5 members, later grew to 10: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia

headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia

motivation: Vietnam War, fear of communism, doubts about the security guarantees regarding the US in the region

objectives: regional security and economic development
pillar system with different levels of integration
- ASEAN Security Community
- ASEAN Economic Community
- ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

ASEAN Charter 2008: international legal personality
- right to conclude international agreements (can be a legal partner to other international agreements)
- recognition not yet fully by other IOs

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19
Q

ASEAN v. OAS

A

OAS = strong institutions regarding e.g. human rights and collective security
ASEAN =
- shows that cooperation is possible despite various political and cultural differences

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20
Q

ASEAN supranational v. intergovernmental
+ ASEAN goals

A

more intergovernmental than most other regional IOs

core principles: non-intervention + intergovernmentalism
- little centralized decision-making, pooling sovereignty (e.g. only in the 90s a secretary general, mostly administrative functions rather than authority)

goals
- peaceful dispute resolution
- prevention of competing military alliances
- common solutions to common problems (constructive engagement to deal with states that don’t respect ASEAN principles)

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21
Q

constructive engagement ASEAN

A

it’s better to work with countries rather than to exclude them

constructive engagement to deal with states that don’t respect ASEAN principle:
informal processes to change something in the country rather than externally intervening with how a state handles internal affairs

there are limits, somethings aren’t okay

e.g. Myanmar allowed to join (now ASEAN is looking for a different approach to surge Myanmar into action)

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22
Q

forms of cooperation ASEAN

A

ASEAN plus 3 (ASEAN cooperation with Japan, China and South Korea)
ASEAN minus X practice (cooperation can still happen if not all members agree)

23
Q

NATO foundation and mandate

A

4 march 1947: Treaty of Dunkirk (France and UK)
establishing a post-war Western European security arrangement

1949 North Atlantic Treaty -> NATO

founding members: US, UK, Benelux countries, France, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Italy
- for a long time France was part of the political structure, but not of the security structure as it wanted to keep more independence

established against Russian/communist threat + to prevent another German rise

originally not intended to stay on as an organization

24
Q

North Atlantic Treaty

A

1949
- parties reaffirm faith in purposes and principles of the Charter
- parties are determined to safeguard freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of DEMOCRACY, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AND THE RULE OF LAW

*any international dispute should first be tried to resolve peacefully by the UN charter

25
Q

NATO treaty: capacities

A

preamble

  • parties are responsible to maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack

there aren’t NATO collective armed forces (members are expected to contribute)

NATO has collective capabilities that all member-states have to agree on to be used
- e.g. AWACS: Airborne Warning and Control System

26
Q

NATO treaty: collective defense

A

article 5
- armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all
- right of individual or collective self-defense
- action it deems necessary, including the use of force

*acknowledges that the SC is the highest authority, if article 5 is invoked, it has to be reported to the SC
- armed response only allowed when the SC hasn’t taken adequate measures
- terminated if UNSC has taken necessary measures (NATO hasn’t always respected this)

invoked only once: 9/11

27
Q

NATO budget

A

common funding and joint funding

common funding: assessed contributions for all member states
joint funding: voluntary contributions to concrete projects

NATO military missions (e.g. Afghanistan, Libya) are paid by participating states

28
Q

Burdensharing debate NATO

A

indirect funding NATO

European states should contribute more (american claim)

lost momentum as all countries lowered their defense budgets at the end of the cold war
military operations former Yugoslavia -> visible gab between military budgets US and EU countries

*this year Poland is contributing more than the US (in % of GDP)

general idea: member states should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense

29
Q

NATO relationship Russia

A

NATO Membership enlargement in the direction of the East has been seen as a threat by Russian

NATO Partnerships for Peace with former Warsaw Pact countries and Russia

2002: NATO-Russia Council established (suspended between 2014-2016)

30
Q

The African Union
- predecessor
- founding
- treaty
- members
- headquarters

A

predecessor: Organization of African Unity (1963-2002)
- goal: consolidate anticolonial proces

AU founded in 2002 (Constitutive Act.)
- formal treaty = Constitutive Act.

seated in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

55 member states

31
Q

AU Constitutive Act. / objectives AU

A

achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of
Africa

focus on defending sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states

respect and promote human and peoples’ rights

promote sustainable development

*many of the institutions/goals described in the Constitutive Act have yet to be established and negotiated

32
Q

African Union intervention?

A

AU allows for intervention in extreme cases (e.g. genocide)
- move from sovereignty to protection

e.g.
anti-coup rule: governments that came into office unconstitutionally are banned from participating in the AU
- allowed to impose sanctions on coups governments and countries that support them

33
Q

AU peace and security council

A

decides if a government has gotten power unconstitutionally
authority to intervene or send peace support missions

objective: promote peace, security and stability on the continent

15 members elected from the AU Assembly
- decide by 2/3 majority, no veto

!roughly modeled on the UNSC

34
Q

African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

A

legally binding -> can impose sanctions

only binding for countries that ratified it (30/55)

35
Q

goals of regional IOs

A

integrate a smaller set of countries, aim to reach across a wider range of substantive issues than other IOs
- belief that regional integration has a pacifying effect on interstate interaction + reducing economic barriers will lead to greater wealth

36
Q

bifurcation

A

opt-out provisions (EU) that enable developments opposed by some members to go ahead without them

37
Q

overlapping diversity

A

similarities and differences, and the autonomy as well as interconnectedness, among regionalisms around the world

38
Q

different focus regionalism Europe and Non-Western World

A

Western Europe: integration after WW2 + trade liberalization and market expansion
non-western world: autonomy in the post-colonial world + self-reliance and development

39
Q

legal basis regionalism

A

21 Latin American countries demanded a place for regionalism in the UN Charter -> regional arrangements possible when functioning under final authority of the UNSC

regionalism legal basis as means of dispute settlement and collective security

40
Q

shift from hegemonic to progressive regionalism

A

hegemonic: regionalism to support hegemonic power (paramountcy)
progressive: regionalism geared to advancing standards of living, social and economic progress, observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms

41
Q

integration theories

A

focus on the ways in which increased transactions and contacts changed attitudes and transnational coalition opportunities, and the ways in which institutions help foster such interaction

fails to explain regionalism in the non-Western world as it presumes certain starting positions (e.g. economic interdependence, liberal politics) + differences in historical, political and economic conditions made regional integration theories inapplicable

integration is not a good way of measuring regional IO success: not all IOs have the same function of creating integration

42
Q

idea theory more suitable for non-Western world (Amitava Acharya)

A
  • foundational goal: preservation of state sovereignty + limiting extra-regional influence and manipulation in regional affairs
  • prioritizes development goals or development regionalism
  • requires less formal or legalistic institutions and processes which might undercut sovereignty and non-intervention
  • spill-over logic: political will and cooperation is a prerequisite for undertaking economic integration
43
Q

'’new regionalism’’

A

approach that broadens the scope of what is being investigated
- somewhat EU-centric: conceptualization mainly draws on empirical observation of the European process (most advanced regional cooperation structure)

44
Q

constructivist biases

A

key foundational texts have little to say about non-Western world
privilege Western norm entrepreneurs, give little attention to non-Western world

45
Q

main point Amitava Acharya makes

A

a universal theory of regionalism is impossible
- theories should explain the diversity of regional structures rather than assume a universal pattern
- older theories can be used, but need to be supplemented by new insights

46
Q

Council of Europe
important

A

not a part of the European Union,
it is a separate (older organisation)

47
Q

Council of Europe
- founding
- objectives
- art. 3 Statute

A

1949 (10 states)

*protection of citizens from/for their own state

objectives:
- prevent another war in Europe
- common value system
- protection of human rights
- early warning mechanism

Art. 3 of the Statute: Every member of the Council must accept the principles
of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of
human rights and fundamental freedoms

48
Q

European Convention on Human Rights

A

1953
core human rights framework for all states within the Council of Europe

Framework of reference for human rights protection

49
Q

Council of Europe structure

A

Commissioner for human rights + secretary general
- at the moment 2 women

European Court for Human Rights
- To safeguard and allow for complaints of noncompliance with the European Convention on Human Rights

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (not that powerful, but important forum where everyone is heard)

50
Q

European Court of Human Rights

A
  • part of the Council of Europe

deals with individual complaints against member states

  • since mid-1980s significant increase in membership and complaints (before it wasn’t really known)

Rules for application: individuals must have used all available domestic remedies in all instances before applying + apply within 6 months after final domestic decision

51
Q

successes European Court of Human Rights

A
  • tension between member states not willing to acknowledge success

e.g. US revised terrorism laws as they breached human rights

  • just satisfaction judgement -> state has to pay compensation
52
Q

European Court of Human Rights
dilemmas

A

Dilemmas:

  • caseload
  • membership (not all have a good record of protecting human rights)
  • lack of enforcement: repeated applications
  • varying compliance (depending on domestic institutions)

supervision of implementation of court decision by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers

53
Q

supervision implementation decisions European Court of Human Rights

A
  • just satisfaction judgement -> state has to pay compensation

CoE Committee of Ministers

54
Q

‘’regional world’’

A

view that regions aren’t fixed geographic and cultural entities, but are dynamic and socially constructed ones that can take on the quality of imagined communities

  • Multiple regions overlap and contradict one another to form complex webs of power, interaction and imagination that are constantly in motion
  • Recognizes the openness of regions to outside influences (enabling mutual learning between regionalisms and groups)
  • Examines state and non-state actors
  • Less EU-centric
  • Calls for more in-depth knowledge of individual regions
    *Origins: project at the University of Chicago (not focused on regionalisms per se)

Introduction to International Organisations (13 decks)

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