Final 2 Flashcards
veil of ignorance
if you take away people’s experiences you can’t empathize
experiments like veil of ignorance highlights influence of self interest, cuts through the crap, highlights prejudice, strips rationalization, strips hypocrisy on concept of social justice that are imbued with perspective of wealth and privilege
how has political community transformed since 16th century England?
political power is more concentrated within strict territorial borders, and there is increased social/economic/cultural variation among states but less within states
this culminated in ideas of sovereignty, sovereign equality, and non-intervension
essential goals of foreign policy
power and security, can only be acquired at the expense of others, which means that confrontation and competition is inevitable
how is the exclusiveness of representative democracy justified?
by identifying members of other states as potential enemies
traits of democratic nation states
- democracy in nation states, non-democratic relations among states
- accountability inside state boundaries, pursuit of reasons of state outside state boundaries
- democracy and citizenship rights for “insiders”
- frequent negotiation of rights for those beyond borders
assumption of territorial political community
is flawed; political communities overlap at sites of power
(ex: economy, political, military, cultural). globalization captures changes in nature of political community ie a shift of human organization to transcontinental/interregional activity
historical globalization can be understood in relation to…
- exclusiveness of networks
- intensity of flows of activity
- impact on bounded communities
Fundamental changes in political community
- Global economic processes
- Democratic state not as much an independent, accountable centre of power bound by fixed borders
- Environmental problems as an example of global shift in human organization
- Individuals, governments, and NGos are placed under new systems of legal regulation in the form of international law
- Increase in emphasis on cooperative security
How have the global economic processes changed?
especially in trade!, production, financial transaction
growth of productive/financial multinational corporations
-essential to diffusion of skills and technology
-key players in international money markets
alteration in balance of economic/political resources within/across borders
-thus, autonomy of elected government is increasingly constrained by unelected economic powers
what does is mean that the democractic state is not as much an independent, accountable centre of power bound by fixed borders?
internationalization of telecommunications
multimedia conglamerates have developed
increase in tourism, language barriers less prominent with spread of English as language of elites/knowledge
how are environmental problems an example of global shift in human organization?
pressure on state-centric democratic politics
3 Problems
1. shared problems: involving global community (ex global warming)
2. global environmental problems: interlinked challenges of demographic expansion and resource consumption (ex biodiversity, desertification)
3. transboundary pollution (ex river pollution, acid rain)
how are actors placed under new systems of legal regulation?
in form of international law; sovereignty is no longer a guarantee of international legitimacy, particularly in human rights law
Increase in emphasis on cooperative security means that..
conception of sovereignty and autonomy are being challenged and eroded
Characterizing the Changing Relationship b/w Globalization and Demographic Political States
- Locus of effective power can no longer be assumed to be national governments (instead, shared by diverse forces and agencies at state and international level)
- Significant areas are marked by criss-crossing loyalties, conflciting interpretations of rights and duties, interconnected legal structures challenge notions of sovereignty as single exclusive form of power
- Idea of self determining collectivity can no longer be located within borders of a single nation-state
- If we live in a world that overlaps communities of fate, tragectories of countries will be intertwined and new boundary problems will emerge
- there is a growing disjuncture between the formal authority of the state and the actual practices/structures of the state and economic systems
what is relevant community?
what is proper constituency/realm of jurisdiction for developing and implementing policy? basically everything now is relevant to global community, but we obvious can’t relegate every single decision to global community.
ex: health issues, nuclear energy/waste, rain forests, instability of global financial market, non-renewable resources, etc
cosmopolitan democractic law
- democratic law must be institutionalized to be effective
- sovereignty stripped from idea of fixed borders
- become attribute of basic democratic law and entrenched in diverse self-regulating realms at regional and global levels
- -enables people to express/deliberate upon their aims/objectives in an interconnected global order
cosmopolitan democracy
wherever anyone is in the world, people have a voice, input, and political representation in international affairs, in parallel with and independently from their governments
what is the main argument against cosmopolitan democracy?
what is the place of democracy in a globalizing world?
- tension between international and domestic policy making
- global forces invade political space of nation state by challenging democratic polity
- things like human rights law restrict the range of democratically contested, domestic policies
critiques of cosmopolitan democracy
what is the differences between regional/state/global jurisdiction?
economic and social inequalities must be addressed (IGOs and INGOs are shaped by/benefit global north)
regional formations are intermediated and institutionalized at the national level (ex: EU)
is the nation state still relevant?
+capitalism is manged at the state level
+state can instigate ecological reform
+local affects global just as global affects local
+states must bestow legitimacy upon IGOs like UN, WTO, IMF, etc
+legal/material infrastructure required by regional projects like EU, NAFTA, etc
+this critique suggests the importance of specifying more fully the p/e/c preconditions and changes for democracy and democratization in the age of globalization
Global citizens
believe they have duties that extend beyond borders, esp concerned with protecting human dignity, maintaining international peace and security, governing shared resources
United Nations 1945
193 states
decolonization, UNDHR, nuclear non-proliferation, peace keeping, global summits
created for post-wartime international order
critiques of UN
limited efficiency; political disputes in attempting to develop norms/ideals in operational forms of global governance
4 Purposes of UN
ultimately to save future generations from war
- maintain international peace/security; take effective measures for prevention and removal of threats to security
- develop friendly relations between states
- achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems including respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
- centre for harmonizing actions of countries to meet common ends
Hobbesian political theory
citizens contract with each other to create good government, the primary purpose of which is to protect citizen from domestic crime and foreign invasion
-defeat in war, civil war, etc = breached contract
affect of veto
1945-90, 246 resolutions were vetoed, only 15 passed
has UN recognized global citizenship
recognition of global citizenship has not penetrated far into the UN. Consider the decline in Official Development Assistance (0.7% of GDP)
R2P
humanitarian intervention; more aspirational than a realized goal
History of R2P
After Rwandan Genocide – debating the right to humanitarian intervention
High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Changes – endorsed R2P as emerging norm; the international community is responsible for the protection of all human rights (unlike Chapter 6/7 that refers to external/international human rights violations)
United Nations World Summit 2005 – all member states formally accepted R2P
R2P is often viewed as a Western document; Canada paid for/created/endorsed R2P
Responsibilities of R2P
responsibility to prevent (protect populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing)
responsibility to react (obligation to assist states in fulfilling their responsibility to prevent mass atrocities before, during, and after conflict; diplomacy first)
responsibility to rebuild (responsibility to use diplomatic, humanitarian, and other means to protect populations)
Strengths of R2P
means to prevent mass atrocities
-gives UN power to interfere
supported by majority of the international community
-states cannot claim ignorance
helps stretch and diminish sovereignty
-places power over states; changes absolute power of the state
added responsibility of rebuilding after conflict
ties sovereignty to citizen rights
-abuse of power results in power not being recognized
solidifies human rights into UN agency
weaknesses of R2P
main symbolic
-new bottle for old issues
justification of R2P can be used by both ides
-Syrian rebels attacked under justification of saving citizens from terrorists
may escalate situations while being enacted
-slow to be initiated
-escalation of situations by revels to force outside involvement
veto of the Big 5
-if a state has a relationship with a state in conflict, reaction can’t happen as quickly
bound to America’s willingness to participate
no autonomy within the doctorine
-nothing can force action to go through
Use of R2P in Libya
• February 2011, echoing neighbouring countries
• demanding for greater rights, representation, and end to Muammar Gaddafi’s reign
• Lybian government immediately used force, committed mass atrocities and violated human rights to suppress protestors
• February 22, Gaddafi used language in a speech that paralleled language used in Rwanda
⁃ prompted international concern
• Arms embargo, restricted travel were placed
• Citizens were still being targeted
• Declaration that the revolution was going to be crushed in 48 hours
⁃ clear intent was expressed toward violence against citizens
⁃ in response, no fly zone was enacted
⁃ Within 48 hours, NATO began bombing campaign, provided strategic support to rebels
⁃ October 20, 2011, Gaddafi was captured and died in custody under questionable circumstances
⁃ October 23 the opposition government officially declared the country’s liberation
• Libya quickly deteriorated as rebel groups turned against ash other
• state of lawlessness in the country even to this day
General Criticisms of R2P in Libya
- concern that the organization has gone beyond its mandate to protect population by causing regime change
- NATO air strikes resulted in injury and deaths of civilians despite efforts to minimize civilian damage
- did not bring lasting peace to region and failed to prevent further violence
how did R2P in Libya affect R2P in Syria?
-concerns about Libyan situation justified inaction in Syria
-this lead China and Russia to veto 3 UNSC resolutions that would’ve condemned the actions of the Syrian government and demand end to violence
Reasons to Veto
-believed council overstepped mandate in Libya
-as non-interventionist country, China didn’t want to set precedent
-concerns about establishing precedent where R2P is used to remove sovereign governments in conflict with democratic Western states
-China and Russia enjoyed friendly political/economic relationship with Syria
R2P and Global Citizenship
-Libyan case demonstrates international community shares commitment to fulfilling global obligations
-In many cases global obligation only done when it works in favour of state self interest
-the Syrian case shows realignment in global power of those predisposed towards sovereign rather than individual rights
-implementation of R2P needs to be figured out better
how do we reconcile regional interest with R2P?
-Is R2P a Dead Letter Norm or next step to something stronger?
1% Doctorine
Between 9/11 and 2005 that says we have a right to preemptively strike if there’s a 1% chance that a state can use weapons of mass destruction; if we don’t the consequences would be too big
- where Iraq War was justified
- disavowed because it wasn’t working out for them in terms of ability to lead/be powerful on international level
UN relationship to peace and violence
Went from a tool to create peace within themselves to peace in other places
Used to be non-violent
League of Nations
- first international global organization
- liberal, democratization of states
- universality is important –> platform for states to father, discuss, debate
goals: 1. create peace and order 2. collective security vs collective defense 3. social rights - LofN failed with big powers, who didn’t want or need to commit to the League
collective security vs collective defense
collective security: collective policing, obligation to gang up on screw-ups. True collective security would allow for minimalistic military presence but if one person lies and nobody notices, the one0eyed man is king
collective defense: group promises to protect each other in time of attack, like after 9/11, everyone had obligation to be involved in Iraq with America
UN ideology
mix of liberal internationalism (reason/rationality/progress’ GA, ECOSOC, ICJ) and conservative internationalism (deal with major powers, look towards liberalism as future goal; SC, SCJ)
4 Principle Objectives of UN
- International peace
- Cooperation among states
- Facilitate solutions to global problems (state based, onus is on the states)
- Provide forum for states to meet UN goals
Weaknesses of UN
- represents political realities of 1965
- doesn’t have a robust policy on how to evolve
- heirarchical and Eurocentric
- is it actually democratic with veto powers?
Successes of UN
Norm generation
-Important UN norms: human rights, development, human security
UN bodies include: SC, GA, SG
-creates standard of how things should be
how does UN promote global citizenship?
UNHCR defines and acts on behalf of refugees (basically institutionalized refugee camps and created instiutionalized no-mans land)
UN coordinates agencies
Internatioanl financial institutions like IMG (EU/US), WTO (EU/US/Japan) and WB dominated by US and EU ideologically and in practice
Voluntourism
UN: “creating a positive impact, focus on leisure”
Voluntourism = an opportunity to travel and asset in the development of foreign states’ infrastructure and stability
4 Walls of Voluntourism
- how long?
- level of obligation; motivation
- setting (where/why?)
- remuneration (compensation/salary?)
History of Voluntourism
• Voluntourism = an opportunity for self-enrichment; to form new networks and empower oneself
• 1909: Red Cross asked for Volunteer Aid Detachment during WWI
⁃ offered medical non-partisan assistance
• 1953: USA created International Voluntary Services
⁃ government and public funded
⁃ ended early 2000s
• 1958: UK Voluntary Service Overseas
⁃ for students to pursue altruistic goals internationally and work towards alleviating poverty
• Recent: travel companies and NGOs take over industry
⁃ mostly north-south, north-north, only some examples of south-south (voluntoldism?)