Global: Political Governance

Question 1

what is the UNGA?

Answer 1

united nations general assembly - 193 nations represented in the General Assembly and each has a seat and equal voice (in theory) whether big or small. Decisions are voted on, based on the concept of one nation one vote. Most votes require 50% but if they are the budget, new membership or peace and security, they need a 2/3rds majority. Outcomes are called ‘resolutions’. These are sometimes also called ‘declarations’. They are drafted by specialist committees who will adapt the wording to get broad support. They then become the official position of the UN once voted on.

Question 2

Strengths of membership of the UNGA?

Answer 2

membership v widespread - 193 member states
equality between members - no states have special privileges - this leads away from use of military and towards peaceful negotiation

Question 3

weaknesses of membership of the UNGA?

Answer 3

membership is not proportional to member states’ size or influence. some states eg palestine/taiwan are still not members. smaller states may require pressure to support certain positions - arguably also a flaw in desicion making.
bigger states may dismiss UNGA reolutions due to their non-binding nature, instead favouring the UNSC.

Question 4

strengths of decision making of the UNGA?

Answer 4

in theory all the member states have equal say in desicions, due to one-vote-per-country.
eg countries in the pacific like tuvalu at risk of being submerged can make its voice heard. states can propose resolutions eg middle eastern countries saying “zionism is racism”

Question 5

weaknesses of decision making of the UNGA?

Answer 5

countries will often vote in blocs, siding with a great power that they have ties to - eg western european countries siding with the USA, eastern european/african countries siding with china. eg russia put pressure on its allies to vote against resolutions condemning assad in syria. more recently the same has been done with the usa and israel.

Question 6

strengths of effectiveness of the UNGA?

Answer 6

all members get a say; compromise due to this system. Official UNGA policy becomes clear and it can pressure countries to abide by it.
the universal declaration of human rights was a UNGA resolution and set the precedent for a growing global human rights culture. in the 1960s South Africa was suspended because of apartheid

Question 7

weaknesses of effectiveness of the UNGA?

Answer 7

more powerful states often try to manipulate weaker ones, usually allies. UNGA resolutions are non-binding, so not enforcable; eg the UDHR is often broken by countries like Russia and the USA, despite it being official UN policy. similarly 100 out of 193 members found the annexation of crimea to be illegal but nothing was done about it. more recently 143 members condemned the annexation of ukraine, yet little direct action taken.

Question 8

what is ECOSOC?

Answer 8

United Nations Economic and Social Council - 54 members from all regions of the world. Members serve in rotation for (3) year periods. Elected by UNGA. Discussion based decisions – linked to the SDG’s. Outcomes are measure through how well the MDG’s and now SDG’s are being met over a long period – working with a huge range of organisations and NGO’s.

Question 9

strengths of ECOSOC membership?

Answer 9

rotation of membership means it is highly representative of the UN, and the world as a whole.

Question 10

weaknesses of ECOSOC membership?

Answer 10

constant rotation means no one is in charge of organisation - can lead to flaws in desicion making and effectiveness more generally. some states who become members in the rotation also have poor track records regarding the SDGs

Question 11

strengths of ECOSOC decision making?

Answer 11

thorough debate and discussion to reach discussions - this involves several states, NGOs and IGOs. means that decisions are not heavily swayed by a single actor and therefore are likely more sensible and beneficial to the world at large

Question 12

weaknesses of ECOSOC decision making?

Answer 12

due to the rigorous decision making process, final agreements can take a very long time to reach. damages effectiveness. also lacks power over some subsidiaries like the IMF.

Question 13

stengths of ECOSOC effectiveness?

Answer 13

huge progress made towards the SDG’s - reductions in poverty particularly in emerging economies like China, Brazil, India etc. boys and girls are now equal in primary education

Question 14

weaknesses of ECOSOC effectiveness?

Answer 14

never fully achieved the milenium development goals, SDG’s are very ambitious and are unlikely to be fully achieved in the near future.

Question 15

what is the ICJ?

Answer 15

international court of justice - oversees disputes between countries - these are often over borders and territory. countries can also be scrutinised under international law.

Question 16

strengths of ICJ membership?

Answer 16

judges are elected by the UNGA - they serve 9 year terms. this ensures the membership of the court is democratic and less susceptible to corruption. Widespread membership - all 193 UN member states are members of the ICJ

Question 17

weaknesses of ICJ membership?

Answer 17

although all UN members are also ICJ members, only 73 have agreed to be bound by the decisions of the court. this means that if any of the other countries commit human rights violations (eg Russia), they cannot be bound by ICJ decisions.

Question 18

Strengths of ICJ decision making?

Question 19

weaknesses of ICJ decision making?

Answer 19

court will take around 6 months to reach a decision - in many cases, this is far too long to prevent a humanitarian crisis

Question 20

strengths of ICJ effectiveness?

Answer 20

while on the whole decisions made by the ICJ are not legally binding on a country, they will often be politically or morally binding, and failure to comply could result in the governing party being voted out, or economic sanctions from other countries. as a result, decisions are usually complied with - eg 2002 border dispute resolved in 2002 - both countries complied with the decision.

Question 20

weaknesses of ICJ effectiveness?

Answer 20

jurisdiction of the court is heavily limited - countries can easily ignore rulings if it is their interests too, eg Israel ignoring the ICJ’s recent requests. even if a country has agreed to be bound by the ICJ, they can withdraw from this when it suits; US in 1984 when it was found guilty of trying to illegally overthrow the government of Nicaragua.

Question 20

strengths of UNSC membership?

Answer 20

non-permanent members serve 2 year terms in regional blocs - africa have 3 seats, south/latin america have 2 - countries in these positions are elected by the UNGA and so more relevant/important countries can be regularly elected. this keeps the UNSC relevant with modern times

Question 20

weaknesses of UNSC membership?

Answer 20

the P5 has remained unchanged since the creation of the UNSC in 1945; China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Question 20

strengths of UNSC decision making?

Answer 20

in many cases where the p5 have consensus on an issue, the UNSC can act quickly and effectively, like in cote d’ivoire, or sierra leone, where child soldiers were being used.

Question 20

weaknesses of UNSC decision making?

Answer 20

the p5 all have veto power - this means some important decisions simply cannot be reached due to the interests of p5 members. for example direct intervention from the UN could not happen in Ukraine due to Russia using its veto to block any. since 1945 the USA has vetoed 33 actions regarding Israel and its treatment of the Palestinian people, most recently just a few months ago. this veto power allows humanitarian crises to continue if it is in any of the p5’s interests to do so.

Question 21

strengths of UNSC effectiveness?

Answer 21

The UNSC is the supreme decision-making body for dealing with international crises. it has successfully authorised 71 peacekeeping missions to date. Its resolutions are binding on member states and whilst the UN does not have its own military force, the P5, NATO and African Union all have military power which they use to help the UN to enforce these resolutions. eg action taken in cote d’ivoire - effectively prevented a coup and restored democracy

Question 21

weaknesses of UNSC effectiveness?

Answer 21

failures to prevent genocides - in bosnia, rwanda, and potentially now in gaza. catastrophic loss of life that the unsc was unable/unwilling to prevent