International Relations #3 Flashcards
The Melian Dialogue
Thucydides (C.460- 395 BCE), the Peloponnesian war
“The question of justice bonly enters where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must
Small island between these powers
Athens is stronger the melians are weaker
Ideals of justice are more effective that brute force
The melians resist the athenians wipe them out they kill of many of the able bodied men and they take the women and children in to slavement
Later in the later battle sparta wins over athens- comes to a crisis
Then many of the exiles come back and the athenian colonizers are driven off the island
The lesson of the melian dialogue- might doesn’t always make right, ideals of justice do matter
Security, insecurity, and power politics
Security is a core IR concern; anarchy makes it tenuous
In liberalism, it is about peace through international institutions (like the UN)
In realism as “peace through strength” (military capacity)
Security can mean different things
Liberal Approaches to Security
Emphasis on international institutions that have been reasonably successful after WW11
Especially the UN and other collective security measures to reduce the negative effects of anarchy
The UN and Collective Security
“Dumbarton Oaks” meeting in 1944 produces a draft charter
Official UN Charter signed 26 june 1945 in San francisco
51 original members, now expanded to 193
The UN Charter
Basic principles:
“Faith is fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights men and women and of nations large and small”
Intention:
“To establish conditions under which justice… can be maintained” and “to promote social progresses and freedom”
Also calls for tolerance and limits on the use of force
The UN Security Council
Established by Chapter 5 of the Charter
Originally had five permanent members (UK, US, USSR, France, China) and six non permanent members
Now ten non-permanent members (serving two-year terms)
Permanent members (P5) have veto power
Liberalism and the UN
Minimizing conflict through institution building
Clear use of progressive liberal language
Emphasis on egalitarianism through extension of membership to all states
Under deceleration of human rights and teh un genocide convention extend security to issues beyond teh survival od teh sovereign nation state
Realism and the UN
Dominance of the five permanent members of the security council
Preservation of the state-based vision of world order
Centrality of military issues, especially in security council
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Created in 1948 to contain the spread of communism in europe
USSR tries to join in 1954 but is rejected
West germany joins in 1955 USSR responds by forming Warsaw Pact
NATO expands to include greece, turkey, spain, and later former Warsaw Pact countries after collapse of Communism and breakup of the USSR
Post cold war conflicts
The end of the cold war unleashed a number of conflicts in places like yugoslavia and the former USSR
Conflicts in Somalia and Rwanda shape attitudes about how other states should be or should not be involved when conflict arises
New skepticism about the UN’S ability to keep the peace
New security and legal dilemmas
Conventional military tactics against a non conventional enemy are often ineffective and counterproductive
Many argue that terrorism is best dealt with as a criminal matter, calling for stringer police and intelligence services
Others argue that the rebel or non state groups should be held to the same standards as ates; regarding respect for human rights
International law (amnesty international, human rights watch geneva conventions etc) has expanded
Alternative approaches to security
Peace activists from the 1960s onwards have promoted “positive peace” which is more than the absence of violent conflict
Peace movements connect with other social movements, drawing on insights from environmentalism, postmodernism, feminism
Economics and security
Increasing gap between “haves” and “have nots” Global North vs GLobal South
The divide between richer and poorer countries is increasingly significant as global warming increase
The environment and security
Early environmental summit held in 1972; largely ignored due to cold war politics
1992 rio de janeiro summit produced the UN convention on climate change
Strengthen the 1997 kyoto protocol
Changes in climate may also have repercussions in other areas such a s food adn water security
The kyoto protocol
Set binding targets for the emission greenhouse gasses
US under Bush, Australia under HOward both refuse to ratify
Canada under harper withdraws in 2011
All argue that the terms unfairly favor developing countries
