International organizations and international security Flashcards
Mingst et al. (2017)
international peace and security > traditionally referred to states’ security and territorial integrity
However, the concept of ‘human security’ begun to take hold > security of different kinds of threats (including poverty, inequalities, human rights, and environmental degradation)
Arguments that the UN is successful at maintaining international security
- Space for important policies and issues to be discuss (Berdal 2003)
- Legitimisation of state action (Berdal 2003).
Arguments that the UN fails in international security
- No consistent decline in security “failures”
- The structure of the UN (Vreeland and Dreher, 2014) > + Realist explanation
- No enforcement power + no punishment for countries that act without resolution
- Peacekeeping forces lack of effectiveness (Welsh, 2015)
The UN and the level of security failures
(United Nations, 2020).
No consistent decline in security “failures”, (I.e wars and conflicts) > since the creation of the UN
In fact by some metrics these failures have increased
What were the conflict rising, which were recently documented by the UN represent?
Mainly represents conflicts waged between non-state actors > political militias, criminal, and international terrorist groups
What other metrics of security failure have shown a decrease since the foundation of the UN?
In spite of a steeply rising global population > the absolute number of war deaths fell (United Nations, 2020).
Vreeland and Dreher (2014)
UN institutions > serve as platforms for:
1) governments to trade money for political support
2) legitimacy on the international stage.
Powerful countries > USA, Japan, Germany > offer financial favours for political support from the elected members of the SC
Use: 1) direct foreign aid 2) IOs > IMF and World Bank.
(Dreher et al., 2018)
Substantial evidence for vote-buying behaviour in the UN General Assembly
*in particular by China
(Welsh, 2015)
UN two implementation tools to manage global security issues:
1) mediation 2) sanctions
> > Rarely able to achieve desired effect + predicated on assumptions > then tested in situations where atrocity crimes have been or will imminently be committed.
Realist perspective on why the UN is ineffective
The UN + IOs > only a function of power competition between states > only as long as powerful states perceive its existence to be beneficial to them in terms of material capacity
> > The UN cannot be effective in managing global security issues, because it has no independent impact on these issues
Hurrell (2007)
States need multilateral security institutions to:
1) share the material and political burdens of security management
2) gain authority and legitimacy
Both are not automatically secured through the possession of crude power.
Sharma and Welsh (2015)
UN institutions > some meaningful impact on security issues:
1) targeted sanctions
2) the ICC’s role as a standard-setter for domestic judicial reform in member States.
Why can the view that the UN is ineffective have elements of reporting bias
Two cases.
- UN successfully manages - mitigates, perhaps, or halts in its tracks - an emerging security crisis. > nothing happens
- UN fails to manage a situation, and a security crisis breaks out, even a war. > easy to observe and memorable
Status quo was maintained vs crisis occurred
Hultman et al. (2019)
UN peacekeeping > cost-effective in increasing global security.
- if the UN had invested US$200 billion in peacekeeping between 2001 and 2013 > major armed conflict > reduced by up to two-thirds + 150,000 more lives would been saved relative to no peacekeeping.
- if the UN shut down peacekeeping from 2001 > 3-4 more countries > in a major conflict compared to now.
Fjelde et al. (2019)
UN peacekeeping presence > enhances civilian protection against violence by non-government actors
H > it struggles to protect civilians from government forces.
Fortna (2008)
Risk of repeat war drops “by 75%–85% or more when peacekeepers are present
Name one example of the direct effect of UN search operations
(Fjelde et. al, 2019)
UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo [February 2005]
Civilians threatened by a militia group > UN chose to conduct a cordon-and-search operation > disarmament of 116 militia soldiers
Name one example of the indirect effect of the UN actions, that don’t even require the presence of peacekeepers
Krain (2012): naming and shaming by the UN or transnational advocacy networks > reduce the severity of state-sponsored murder.
> > Burgoon et al. (2015): the peaceful effect of naming and shaming is stronger in the presence of peacekeepers.
Name the type of missions the UN takes on
- Traditional missions: active role in shaping peace agreements and managing buffer zones (i.e UN Interim Force in Lebanon) [requires consent]
- Observer missons: observing truces, troop withdrawal, or act as a buffer zone [requires consent]
- Multidimensional missions
3.1. 2nd gen > economic or institutional reconstruction [requires consent]
3.2. 3rd gen > enforcement missions > [do not require consent] > draw on the authority of UN Charters
2 issues with the UN when it is deciding to intervene or not
- Selectivity
- More hesitant to get involved when perpetrator of observed violence is a state actor > Fjelde et al. (2019) > government’s ability to veto PKOs > PKOs more able to impose costs on rebel groups than government - Timing
- Time taken to 1) getting consent 2) acting without consent 3) Coordination problems
(Berdal 2003)
The UN can be an actor in facilitating debates and discussions > it is a near universally collectively of legally equal member states bound together by a set of common principles, norms and rules of conduct
However > realist > not equal states
Why would super powers engage with the UN?
P5 members > increase their influence and interests.
- China’s used it’s Council membership signal and restate its interests in Taiwan.
- Example of 2 countries negotiating with each other: in 1993 Russia obtained a ‘forthcoming’ US position on Georgia and Tajikistan > in exchange for supporting US-sponsored resolution on Haiti.
How can the UN can be used by as an instrument for collective legitimisation of state action?
(Berdal 2003).
Using the UN > states can acquire the legitimacy to act on the international stage or against a specific country
i.e Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 > violation of UN Charter principles. > eased the task for the Security Council to authorise military actions > later led by the US and joined by many other countries
How can some actions of the US-UK relating to Kuwait’s invasion show the ineffectiveness of the UN
The US-UK, acted in way that did not get the authorisation of the UN Security Council.
- The withdrawal of UNSCOM + US-UK Operation Desert Storm launched without the explicit Security Council authorisation
- The US-UK continued to patrol the non-fly zones without SC in 1991 and 1992
