International Cooperation and law

Question 1

International Cooperation

Answer 1

Occurs when states adopt behavior that aligns with the preferences of other states.

Question 2

• Cooperation between states

Answer 2

is much more common than conflict. International relations theories have differing approaches to evaluating why states cooperate with one another.

Question 3

• Realism and the Cooperation Problem
Realist and cooperation
Realist posit

Answer 3

that cooperation is difficult because of the relative gains problem and the prisoner’s dilemma.

Question 4

• Anarchy leads to a self-help world in which states focus on relative gains, where a gain in power for one state relative to another means it is better able to coerce that other state.
In realism

Answer 4

Because the benefits of cooperation are likely to be unevenly distributed, states are likely to be hesitant to cooperate.

Question 5

• Realists also argue that cooperation is

Answer 5

difficult because of cheating as exemplified by the prisoner’s dilemma.

Question 6

The fear that one state, after making a cooperative agreement will renege on its promise,
In realism

Answer 6

will reduce the chances of cooperation and thus make noncooperation the most rational choice.

Question 7

• Nash Equilibrium

Answer 7

when there is doubt about the possibility of the other prisoner defecting (cheating), the most stable option is to defect (not cooperate).

Question 8

• Cooperation yields

In realism

Answer 8

the optimum result for both parties.

Question 9

o Solutions to the cooperation problem

Answer 9

liberal theories provide potential solutions to the cooperation problem.

Question 10

• Neoliberal institutionalism and cooperation

o Neoliberal institutionalism is the branch

Answer 10

of liberal theory that most directly answers realists concerns.

Question 11

NeoLiberalism Agrees with realist assumptions regarding

Answer 11

anarchy and self-interest but concludes that these assumptions lead to cooperation because of repeated interactions that facilitate reciprocity.

Question 12

o International institutions can play

In neoliberalism

Answer 12

an important role in fostering the reciprocity that can sustain cooperation.

Question 13

o Institutions lengthen the shadow of the future

In liberalism

Answer 13

by providing a framework for interaction that increases the expectation that states will continue to interact well into the future.

Question 14

o International institutions and treaties provide states

In liberalism

Answer 14

with clear standards of acceptable behavior, and this template of what cooperative behavior looks like enables states to appropriately align their actions with international norms and standards.

Question 15

o International institutions provide states

In liberalism

Answer 15

with information about the behavior of other states; knowing what other states are doing motivates reciprocity.

Question 16

• International law is a

Answer 16

body of rules and norms regulating interactions among states and between states and IGOs.

Question 17

• Functions of international law include

Answer 17

o rules and norms that create order and set expectations,

o mechanisms for dispute settlement,

Question 18

• Functions of international law also include

Answer 18

o protection of the status quo,
o guarantees of fairness and equity,
o legitimization of the use of force by government.

Question 19

• History of international law
o Grotian tradition: Hugo Grotius argued that states, like people, are rational, law abiding, and capable of cooperation.

Answer 19

Thus, he concluded that international relations between states is based on the rule of law, specifically the law of nations and the law of nature. He rejected the idea that states can do whatever they wish, a hallmark of sovereignty

Question 20

• Sources of international law
o Customs
Habits that become engrained as more states follow

Answer 20

the same tradition; they eventually become codified into customary law.

Question 21

Customary law is limited: it can take

Answer 21

it can become outdated as technology changes; it can lead to ambiguity in interpretation.

Question 22

o Treaties

 Legally binding, explicitly written agreements

Answer 22

between states that lay out rights and obligations.

Question 23

 The creation and enforcement of treaties is governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969). According to the convention,

Answer 23

once states meet and work out the details of a treaty, its adoption is typically done either by consensus or by at least a two-thirds majority vote of participating states.

Question 24

 While some treaties simply require a signature to be legally binding,

Answer 24

most also require ratification through the domestic process.

Question 25

Stages of treaties

Answer 25

States meet and work out the details of the treaty
Adoption: signifies that negotiations over the text have finalized: typically by consensus or by at least a two-thirds majority.

Question 26

The middle stages of treaties

Answer 26

Signature: states can choose to sign or not sign, regardless of whether they participated or not in the negotiations
 Ratification: most treaties require legislative approval
 Enter into force: Depends on the specifications of the treaty (minimum number of states that ratify it, period of time, etc.). States that have ratified the treaty are legally bound only when the treaty enters into force.

Question 27

The last stage of treaties

Answer 27

Acceding: State can also join a treaty even after it has entered into force and even if it is no longer open for signature.

Question 28

o Vertical enforcement:

Answer 28

legal process by which one actor constrains the actions of another over which it has authority to secure its compliance with the law.

Question 29

 Top-down enforcement

Answer 29

some international institutions, like the International Court of Justice (ICJ), have the power to enforce state compliance.

Question 30

 The ICJ:

Answer 30

(a) settles legal disputes between states in accordance with international law; (b) gives advisory opinions on legal matters

Question 31

 The ICJ, however, has some noteworthy weaknesses:

Answer 31

 Both parties must agree to the court’s jurisdiction before a case is taken.
 Non-compulsory jurisdiction

Question 32

ICJ last weakness

Answer 32

 Only states can initiate proceedings.

Question 33

 Horizontal enforcement

Answer 33

process by which states work to elicit compliance with international law by other states.

Question 34

Two mechanisms of horizontal enforcement

Answer 34

power and reciprocity.

Question 35

 Power

In horizontal law

Answer 35

 states comply with international law because more powerful states make them

Question 36

 Collective action

In horizontal law

Answer 36

when states join together against the violator of international law

Question 37

 Reciprocity

In horizontal law

Answer 37

the desire to reap the gains of cooperation will incentivize states to comply with the laws (recall prisoner’s dilemma)

Question 38

o Self-interest

Answer 38

 International laws and international institutions are effective only if states comply with the rules and obligations. States are motivated to comply only when it is in their self-interest.

Question 39

 Self-interested states benefit by

Answer 39

participating in making the rules through treaties because that enables them to ensure the rules are in their interest.

Question 40

o Normative and ethical explanations

Answer 40

States comply for ethical reasons, because it is the right thing to do.

Question 41

o Normative and ethical explanations

States fear being labeled a pariah and losing face and prestige,

Answer 41

so they comply in order to be seen as legitimate.

Question 42

• Bodies of international law

o International criminal law

Answer 42

 A large number of treaties related to criminal law are currently in force. These laws deal with procedural issues and substantive transnational issues.

Question 43

o International criminal law

 Many of these treaties guarantee mutual legal assistance

Answer 43

which regularizes cooperation between governments on gathering evidence, sharing information, tracking suspects or witnesses, etc.

Question 44

 Several of these treaties also allow for extradition,

In international crime law

Answer 44

which refers to the process of delivering an individual from the territory of one state to another state for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

Question 45

 Extradition treaties often include conditions:

Answer 45

The offense being charged against the individual must be a crime in both states.
o The individual may only be tried for the crime used to justify the extradition

Question 46

Extradition treaties also include

Answer 46

The offense cannot be “political in nature”.

Question 47

 One great difficulty in extradition treaties

Answer 47

problem of punishment - life sentences, death penalty, etc.

Question 48

 Global criminal activities

Answer 48

such as drug trafficking and terrorism, have also been addressed in international criminal law.

Question 49

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
●	The creation of IGOs

Answer 49

o Liberal and neoliberal institutionalists deem international institutions as arenas in which states interact, work together, and cooperate to solve problems

Question 50

In IGOs

Multiple interactions lead to greater cooperation. These institutions

Answer 50

coordinate cooperation, moderate state behavior, provide a framework for interaction, establish mechanisms to reduce cheating, and facilitate transparency of state actions

Question 51

Roles of IGOs

o Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)

Answer 51

contribute to habits of cooperation; through IGOs, states become socialized to regular interactions. Such regular interactions occur between states in the United Nations (UN), which continuously negotiate and bargain in the forum provided by that organization.

Question 52

o IGOs facilitate the regularization of processes for information gathering

Answer 52

analysis, and surveillance, settling disputes, and punishment.

Question 53

o States join IGOs to use them as instruments of foreign policy;

Answer 53

in other words, states create and join IGOs because they secure more benefits from participating in regimes than from not participating.

Question 54

o IGOs also constrain states. They set agendas and force governments to make decisions, encourage states to develop processes to facilitate IGO participation,

Answer 54

and create norms of behavior with which states must align their policies if they wish to benefit from their membership. States agree to these constraints because the benefits of cooperation outweigh the costs of such constraints.

Question 55

o The United Nations was founded on three fundamental principles:

1. The notion of the sovereign equality of member states:

Answer 55

each state is legally and formally equivalent to every other state.

Question 56

United Nations foundations

2. Only international problems are within its jurisdiction

Answer 56

Such problems include human rights, global telecommunications, and environmental regulation. In other words, the UN does not interfere with states’ sovereignty.

Question 57

The United Nations foundation

3. The UN is designed primarily to maintain international peace and security.

Answer 57

Member states must refrain from the threat or use of force and settle disputes through peaceful means.

Question 58

o The definition of security has broadened from the classical protection of national territory to human security:

Answer 58

providing humanitarian relief for refugees or people who are starving.

Question 59

United Nations security

▪ Security Council

Answer 59

responsible for ensuring peace and security and deciding on enforcement measures.

Question 60

United Nations security

Each of the five permanent members (United States
▪ , France, Great Britain, China, Russia)

Answer 60

has a veto

Question 61

United Nations security

the remaining ten states are elected by the General Assembly

Answer 61

to serve two-year terms and do not have veto power. It is the only body that can authorize the use of force.

Question 62

United Nations security
o Enforcement and Chapter VII
▪ Chapter VII of the UN Charter enables the Security Council to take

Answer 62

measures to prevent or deter threats to international peace or to counteract threats of aggression. Sanctions have been the major approach used by the UN.

Question 63

United Nations security
o Article 39

The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations,

Answer 63

or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Question 64

United Nations security
o Article 41
The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions,

Answer 64

and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

Question 65

In United Nations security

o Article 42
Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate, it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Answer 65

Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.

Question 66

▪ General Assembly:

Answer 66

has 193 member states and permits debate on any topic under its purview. General Assembly resolutions can provide the basis for new international laws. This body, however, can only make recommendations.

Question 67

▪ Secretariat

Answer 67

It is the primary administrative unit. It gathers information and coordinates and conducts activities. The secretary-general is the chief spokesperson, administrative officer, and public face of the UN system.

Question 68

▪ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):

Answer 68

coordinates economic and social welfare programs and coordinates action of specialized agencies.

Question 69

▪ Trusteeship Council:

Answer 69

no longer functioning; its task was to supervise decolonization and to phase out trust territories under UN guardianship.

Question 70

▪ International Court of Justice:

Answer 70

composed of 15 judges, it has noncompulsory jurisdiction on cases brought by states and international organizations

Question 71

o Key political issues

▪ The UN played a key role in the decolonization of Africa and Asia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Answer 71

The UN Charter endorsed the principle of self-determination for colonial peoples.

Question 72

▪ In traditional peacekeeping

Answer 72

multilateral institutions such as the UN seek to contain conflicts between two states through third-party military forces that monitor a peace agreement.

Question 73

▪ Traditional peacekeeping:

Answer 73

 Uses third-party military forces drawn from nonpermanent members of the Security Council
 Prevents conflicts from escalating

Question 74

▪ Traditional peacekeeping also

Answer 74

 Invited in by disputants

 Focuses on separating warring parties (buffer zone), securing borders, patrolling demarcation, maintaining cease-fires

Question 75

▪ Complex (or multidimensional) peacekeeping activities

Answer 75

respond to civil war and ethno nationalist conflicts in states that may not have requested UN assistance.

Question 76

▪ Complex peacekeeping includes:

Answer 76

Verifying troop withdrawals
Separating warring factions
Conducting and supervising elections
Implementing human rights guarantees

Question 77

Complex peace keeping also includes

Answer 77

 Supplying humanitarian aid

 Helping civil administration maintain law and order (also known as peacebuilding)

Question 78

▪ UN peacekeepers have tried to maintain law and order in failing societies by aiding in civil administration, policing, and rehabilitating infrastructure

Answer 78

This is referred to as peacebuilding and is a substantial extension of the UN’s responsibilities.

Question 79

o UN reform: success and stalemate

▪ Most states agree that the Security Council membership should be increased,

Answer 79

but many disagree over how it should be done.

Question 80

o UN reform: success and stalemate

▪ Problem

Answer 80

permanent members do not represent geographic or regional diversity and do not reflect the power of major economic contributors

Question 81

o UN reform: success and stalemate

▪ Solution

Answer 81

increase the number of the permanent members on Security Council to include Germany and Japan (major donors) and major regional powers (India, Brazil, Nigeria)

Question 82

o UN reform: success and stalemate
▪ However, unresolved questions:
 How many should be added to the Security Council?
o Need to balance representation with efficiency

Answer 82

 Who should be represented?
o For every seat, there are multiple contenders
o India versus Pakistan; Brazil versus Argentina
 Should the new members have veto power?

Question 83

HUMAN RIGHTS

Religious, Philosophical, and Historical Foundations

Answer 83

HUMAN RIGHTS

● All the world’s great religions assert the dignity of individuals and people’s responsibilities to their fellow human beings.

Question 84

HUMAN RIGHTS
● Four major debates regarding human rights
1. Are these rights universal?
2. Are some rights culturally determined?

Answer 84

HUMAN RIGHTS
Should some rights be prioritized over others?
Who has the responsibility and the right to respond to violations of human rights?

Question 85

HUMAN RIGHTS

● First-generation rights:

Answer 85

HUMAN RIGHTS

political and civil rights, rights that states cannot take away (free speech, assembly) – negative freedom: “free from”

Question 86

HUMAN RIGHTS

● Second-generation rights:

Answer 86

HUMAN RIGHTS

economic and social rights, rights that states should provide (health care, jobs, free education) – positive freedom: “free to”

Question 87

HUMAN RIGHTS

● Third-generation rights:

Answer 87

HUMAN RIGHTS

rights of specific groups (minorities, women, and children)

Question 88

HUMAN RIGHTS

● Geneva Conventions:

Answer 88

HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Protection of the wounded in the armed forces
2. Protection of the wounded at sea

Question 89

HUMAN RIGHTS

Geneva conventions also

Answer 89

HUMAN RIGHTS

3. Protection of prisoners of war
4. Protection of noncombatants during wartime

Question 90

HUMAN RIGHTS Emerging International Responsibility

● After World War II, there was a moral demand for international action to protect basic freedoms. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was approved by the UN General Assembly in 1948. Its principles

Answer 90

HUMAN RIGHTS

Its principles were codified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Together, they are known as the International Bill of Rights.

Question 91

● The UN has been responsible for setting human rights standards, while its charter acknowledges the primacy of state sovereignty,

Answer 91

meaning that states cannot be held to international standards.

Question 92

• State tactics to protect human rights

o What can states do if they believe the human rights of individuals in another state are not being protected?

Answer 92

▪ Use positive incentives or engagement.
▪ Use negative sanctions.
▪ Use force.

Question 93

● States as abusers of human rights
o Authoritarian or autocratic states are more likely to abuse political and civil rights.
o Less-developed states are unable or unwilling to fulfill social and economic rights.

Answer 93

o All states, even democratic ones, may revoke some political and civil rights when national security is threatened.
o Economic conditions can influence a country’s adherence to human rights standards.
o Culture and history affect a state’s human rights record, influencing which rights are seen as most legitimate and important.

Question 94

o The UN’s activities have been confined to several areas:
▪ Setting the international human rights standards articulated in many treaties.
▪ Monitoring, reporting, and investigating state behavior. The UN has worked to monitor state behavior, establishing procedures for complaints, compiling reports from observers, and monitoring civil rights.

Answer 94

The UN Human Rights Council established the Universal Periodic Review, through which every state evaluates its human rights record every four years. NGOs are also useful in monitoring activities.
▪ Taking measures to improve state compliance. In the UN this responsibility lies with the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Question 95

● Evaluating the efforts of the international community:

Answer 95

enforcement problems

Question 96

o The international community’s approaches to human rights enforcement are fraught with difficulties.

Answer 96

1. A state’s signature on a treaty is no guarantee of its willingness or ability to follow the treaty’s provisions.
2. Monitoring state compliance through self-reporting systems presumes a willingness to comply and to be transparent; few IGOs can independently monitor compliance. Monitoring is effective only when undertaken by both domestic NGOs and international actors.

Question 97

The international community’s approaches to human rights enforcement are fraught with difficulties also include

Answer 97

3. Taking direct action by imposing economic embargoes may not achieve the announced objective and may actually be harmful to those very individuals whom the embargoes are trying to help.
4. Military action may cause unintended casualties

Question 98

o The term genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

Answer 98

Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Question 99

crime against humanity means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:

Answer 99

▪ Murder;
▪ Extermination;
▪ Enslavement;
▪ Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
▪ Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
▪ Torture;
▪ Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
▪ Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;

Question 100

Crimes against humanity also mean

Answer 100

▪ Enforced disappearance of persons;
▪ The crime of apartheid;
▪ Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.

Question 101

● Punishing the guilty individuals

o The UN has established ad hoc tribunals to try those accused of war crimes committed during specific conflicts.

Answer 101

▪ International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993)
▪ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1994)

Question 102

o The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent court established in 2003 to cover the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.
▪ Most of the cases involve crimes committed in Africa.
▪ No individuals are immune from jurisdiction, including heads of states and military leaders

Answer 102

▪ The United States objects to the ICC, arguing that it infringes on U.S. sovereignty. The United States also believes that as a hegemon it has an exceptional international responsibility; thus, its leaders and military personnel should be immune from ICC jurisdiction.
▪ However, the United States does cooperate with the ICC in some specific cases.

Question 103

The Debate over Humanitarian Intervention and R2P
• Following numerous humanitarian crises in the 1990s, respected international scholars concluded that if a state does not protect its own, then other states

Answer 103

have the responsibility to protect (R2P) by intervening in the state where abuse is occurring, even using military force as a last resort, if authorized by the UN Security Council. This is called humanitarian intervention

Question 104

• Problems with R2P:
o Intervention is selectively used.
o R2P is used as a justification for intervention by some states acting in their own national interest rather than based on human rights concerns.
o Some states place priority on sovereignty thus opposing R2P.

Answer 104

o Colonial experiences have made Asian and African states skeptical of the humanitarian justification for intervention by Western countries.
o Initial support for humanitarian intervention by a state does not guarantee future support for such missions. Perception of success or failure of previous missions can influence future support.