global governance: political and economic Flashcards
1
Q
what is the UN
A
- only IGO where all world states can be members
- there are currently 193 member states
- meet and deal with issues like the environment, conflicts, human rights, poverty
2
Q
origin and development of the UN
A
- established by 51 countries in October 1945 after WW2 and collapse of league of nations
- all members agree to 1945 charter
- after the cold war the UN has had to tackle new global security issues
3
Q
what is in the 1945 UN charter
A
1 maintain peace and security
2 maintain friendly relations among states
3 achieve international cooperation in solving international problems
4 centre for harmonising actions of nations for common ends
4
Q
new global security issues of UN after cold war
A
- missions to maintain peace after civil war like implementing complex peace agreements
- political, economic and social conditions within states- Yemen, Somalia
- threats of terrorise and proliferations of arms and WOMD- UN office of counterterrorism
- environmental degradation of nuclear proliferation
5
Q
strengths of UN as a whole
A
- global consensus
- helps to maintain peace
- build global relations
- “ responsibility to protect”
6
Q
weaknesses of UN as a whole
A
- too big of an expectation to police 193 states
- despite having situations centres, it is hard to actually know what is going on in the world
- rotating presidency/ leaders makes it hard for there to be continuity
- sovereignty
- western led
- principle of non interference- Colonel Gaffadi assassinated by NATO allied
- thin spread of peace keepers- 18 operations of peacekeeping including Sudan
- limited nature of peacekeeping - only when conflict is revolved
- abstentions- Russia and China against Darfur
7
Q
UN main organs
A
- the general assembly
- security council
- ICJ
- secretariat
- economic and social council
- trusteeship council ( suspended in 1944 after independence of last UN trust territory)
8
Q
what is the UN general assembly
A
- all 193 member states
- each with one vote
- decisions not binding on UN members
- major decisions like peace and security require 2/3 majority
- UNICEF, WFP, UNAIDS
9
Q
strengths of UN general assembly
A
- global forum for all countries
- equal representation on world stage
- “jaw jaw is better than war war” Churchill
10
Q
weaknesses of UN general assembly
A
- little power
- represents interests of states and not people
- equal power to democracies and dictators
11
Q
what is the UN security council
A
- 15 members
- P5 permanent members- France, UK, USA, China, Russia who have. ego powers
- 10 non permanent members elected for a two year term by general assembly
- decisions binding on all members
- maintain peace and security
- can authorise military action and economic sanctions- Iraq in 1990
12
Q
strengths of security council
A
- represents realities of world power (great and super powers)
- powerful force
- upholds peace and security. intervention in Sierra Leone 1999
- absence of global war since 1945
13
Q
weaknesses of security council
A
- difficult to have a collective decisions due to clashes of interests with P5 ( difference in allies within Syrian conflict)
- represents world order of 1945 and no longer reflected to now
- lack of permanent members in other continents
14
Q
what is the international court of justice
A
- deals with legal disputes between states- sovereignty of temple of Preah Vihear between Thailand and Cambodia, which was given to Cambodia
- 15 judges elected for 9 year terms
15
Q
what is the international criminal court
A
deals with individuals who commit war crimes, like Netanyahu’s warrant for arrest
16
Q
what is the secretariat
A
- international staff servicing the other organs
- headed by secretary general
17
Q
what is the economic and social council
A
- coordinates economic, social and environmental work
- registered links to over 3,200 NGOs
- member states elected by general assembly for overlapping 3 year terms
- WHO, IMF, World Bank
18
Q
functions of the UN
A
- provide international stability
- forum for discussion
- peacemaking or peace enforcement- seen in Gulf War 1990 or Libya 2011
- peacekeeping- cyprus, 71 operations since 1948
- promotes and coordinated development assistance- through institutions like UNICEF
19
Q
evaluation of ICJ strengths
A
+ upholds international rule of law
+ promotes neutrality
+ helps control disputes in the world
20
Q
evaluation of the ICJ weaknesss
A
- both parties must agree to the ICJ having jurisdiction
- cannot enforce rules
21
Q
evaluation of economic and social council strengths
A
+ open forum for discussion
+ confidence from global civil society and developing countries
22
Q
evaluation of economic and social council weaknesses
A
- lacks ability to coordinate the various systems of UN
- lacks power to enforce decision
23
Q
role of nato
A
- north atlantic alliance
- 32 states
- guarantee freedom and security of its members
- article V- “an armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an attack against all”
24
Q
changing role of NATO
A
- originally used to protect against USSR
- now helps with peacekeeping and humanitarian intervention
- expansion beyond Europe (our of area operations)- use of article V after 9/11 attacks
- eastward expansion- ex-Warsaw pact members like Slovakia
25
Q
define dual key arrangement
A
permission needed from UN and NATO to use force
26
Q
role of NATO in Afghanistan
A
- NATO took command from ISAF
- remained from 2003-2014
- more than 2000 US and 400 UK personnel killed
27
Q
origin of NATO
A
- formed in 1949 following the signing of the Washington Treaty
- derived from article 51 of UN charter, saying states have the right to individual or collective defence
- tensions built up during Cold War- building of Berlin War
28
Q
strengths of NATO
A
- one of the most powerful military alliances
- spending makes up over 70% of global military spending
- achieved its goal of protecting Western countries during Cold War
- adaptable to new threats like terrorise and cyber warfare
- spread of liberal democracies
29
Q
weaknesses of NATO
A
- consensus is difficult
- Russia sees eastward expansion as a threat- lead to conflict in Crimea and Ukraine
- controversial problematic missions like Afghanistan and Libya 2011
- overly reliant on US (free rider problem)
- not all countries spend guidelines of 2% of GDP on defence
- no longer relevant with end of cold war
30
Q
NATO peacekeeping and humanitarian intervention missions
A
- air war over Kosovo due to ethnic Albanians fleeing NATO undertook peacekeeping task
- 2011- use of air strikes in Libya to protect civilians and led to victory ishtar death of Gaddafi
31
Q
history of global economic governance
A
- classical liberal economics created global economic governance which allowed for free trade and commotion- adam smith
- however, the great depression of the 1930s led to Keynesian economics, which was an interventionist approach by managing markets to prevent market failure
- post-war consensus was when both lab and con believe a keynesian system was best
- in 1970s, stagflation (high unemployment and high inflation) led to the washington consensus, which promoted neoliberal, free market approach
32
Q
role of IMF
A
- oversees the international monetary system
- promotes exchange stability and orderly exchange relations
- assist all members that have temporary balance of payments- lender of last resort
- provides short to medium term loans- Lab went to IMF for $3 million loan
- surveillance to keep tabs on local economies and issue reports
- issues SAPs which are conditions on loans that you have to do as the IMF says
33
Q
features of IMF
A
- draws its financial resources from quota subscriptions of member countries
- top lenders- US, Japan, China
- top borrowers- Greece, Ukraine, Portugal
- 191 members
34
Q
strengths of IMF
A
- market based approach is effective in growth and prosperity- South Korea
- no country obliged to accept
- 100 countries requested help during Covid- $2.71 bil to Egypt
- 2015 $918 mil loan to Ghana has now seen economic growth rise by 6% and inflation fall by 11%
- loan to countries when no other place will- bailed out Cyprus and Greece during global financial crisis
35
Q
weaknesses of IMF
A
- failed to prevent global financial crisis
- vote distribution is based on member state contributions- US has 17% of vote
- support military dictatorships
- SAPs increase dependency and pressure to accept and undermine state sovereignty
- force developing countries to open their markets to foreign investors and facilitate capital flows
- due to influence of US, change in functions of IGOs will mirror the US
- 2001- argentina was pegged to the dollar and interest rate soared which overvalued the currency- debt and half population in 2002 in poverty
36
Q
role of the world bank
A
- promote economic development of worlds poorest countries
- long term financing or development programs- infrastructure
- countries whose GNP is less than $865 get financial assistance through IDA
- end extreme poverty to 3%
- promote shared prosperity by increasing income of poorest 40% in each country
- advises countries
- support the UN millennium and sustainable goals
37
Q
features of world bank
A
- gets most of its resources by borrowing on the international bond market
- 189 members
38
Q
strengths of world bank
A
- no country is obliged to accept
- adopted more focus on environment, women and health recently- $700 mil to develop offshore natural gas resources in Ghana, $140 mil invested in higher education in africa
- advised and provided funds during 1997 asian crisis
- extra $86 billion capital is made since credit crunch
- revision to vote share- developed and developing have 47% of vote, additional seat for sub saharan africa
- contributed to success of eradicating extreme poverty- halved
39
Q
weaknesses of world bank
A
- ignoring environmental and social impacts- ignores human rights abuse in south sudan
- american led- american leader Ajay Banga, contribute $50 billion since 1945
- made up of board with representatives from each country- undemocratic
- Moyo argues against aid - an industry whereby politicians are fixated on “fixing” a country that does not help the people within it- zimbabwe government received $300 million but still prone to human rights abuse and corruption
- political pressure- often linked to support for US
40
Q
history of WTO
A
- replaces GATT, which was primarily focused on reducing tariff barriers and ensuring no asymmetric tariffs
- GATT only focus on goods
41
Q
role of WTO
A
- settles trade disputes with member states
- enforces international trade rules
- oversees services and protection of IP as well
- abolish trade barriers
- forum for governments to discuss trade agreements
- economic research and analysis
42
Q
features of WTO
A
- based in Geneva, Switzerland
- 166 member states and 23 observer governments
- account for 98% of world trade
- every member has to comply with “most favoured nation” principle- no favouritism
43
Q
strengths of WTO
A
- more democratic as rules were created by member states and developing countries are more influential
- successful in reducing trade barriers- average tariffs fallen to 3% in 2000
- drop in import prices has made it cheaper for consumers and helped to raise living standards
- solved trade disputes- banana war where EU favoured imports from ex-EU colonies which put US companies at a disadvantage
- beneficial through comparative advantage
- promotes multilateral agreements which stops powerful countries from dominating trade scene
- free trade allows for more economic growth- EU calculated single market created 300k-900k more jobs
44
Q
weaknesses of WTO
A
- can compel sovereign states to change laws by declaring them to be in violation of the rules
- decision making dominated by US and EU- the Quad
- developed countries still have protectionist measures despite encouraging other countries- US
- does not consider impact on workers rights, child labour, health and environment
- lacks external accountability not open to public and media
- negotiations are slow, as seen in Doha round which started in 2001 and have been stalled
- developed countries gain access to markets of developing states without prospect of foreign competition - exploitation
- growth of regionalism which may be more influential- TTIP
- domination of MNCs and no culture
45
Q
features of G7/8
A
- informal bloc of industrialised democracies- UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Japan, and Russia (suspended in 2014 after annexation of crimea)
- EU also attends meeting
- 40% of world GDP
- 10% of world population
46
Q
role of G7/8
A
- meet annually to discuss economic affairs
- recently expended to discuss energy and foreign policy
- strengthen global economy
- promote peace and democracy
47
Q
strengths of G7/8
A
- more efficient as less parties involved
- allow for discussions of common concerns which is intimate
- 1999- cancelled $100 billion of debt and doubled its aid to Africa
48
Q
weaknesses of G7/8
A
- only commitments and promises, but actions does not have to be taken
- overpowered by democracy and sovereignty of the state, e.g PM can do as they wish
- compliance is voluntary
- elitist and not representative, no China, African or South american country
- closed door image- cannot be held accountable
- anti-globalisation protestors argue theft do not deal with poverty or the environment
- could not deal with financial crisis
- prone to protests- Genoa 2001
49
Q
features of G20
A
- membership extending to Asia, Africa and Oceania
- EU is a member
- 80% of world GDP
- 60% of population
- aim to promote financial stability
50
Q
strengths of G20
A
- more diverse
- since 2009, it has become more important than G7
- 2008 and 2009 summit established a fund of $500 billion to stimulate economic growth
- helped with covid pandemic
51
Q
weaknesses of G20
A
- some countries are still not included- Poland
- not all members are richest in the world- argentina and indonesia rank outside top 20
- lack of transparency and accountability
- slow as it is hard to reach a consensus
