political and economic governance Flashcards
what are the objectives of the UN?
-Maintain international peace
-Promote human rights
-Uphold respect for international law
-Promote better standards of life
what does chapter 7 of the UN state?
The UNs power to maintain peace through military force
what are the different institutes you need t know within the UN?
- security council
- general assembly
- ECOSCOC (economic and social council)
- ICJ (international court of justice)
-what is the role of the security council and when has it been successful?
The role: The security council has 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members who serve 2-year stints. Nine votes in favour (including no veto’s) are needed for a resolution to pass – the verdict is legally binding. The 5 permanent members are: USA, China, Russia, France and the UK.
successful: The security council’s primary aim is to ensure peace globally, following the destruction of WW2. Since no world war has taken place since the adoption of the UN charter, there is some merit in saying they have achieved this overall aim. According to a study by a Harvard university professor called Steven Pinker, we are currently living in the most peaceful time in human history. An individual is less likely to die right now in combat than any other time period in human history. Therefore, it is not a stretch to assume that the UN, which is made up of all but 3 countries in the world, played a major role in facilitating this peace. Despite the wide variety of views represented on the security council, they can still find resolutions to protect the global interest: like peace keeping missions in Cyprus, the Congo war, etc.
why may the UN security council be unsuccessful at fulfilling its function?
Russia and Chinas authoritarian style of governance vs the wests liberal democracy style, can see a combat in interest in decision making, which is exacerbated by the presence of a VETO.
Each permanent member has a VETO, if they use a veto on one of the decisions it is not allowed to pass.
The USA and Russia appear to be the two most likely to veto a decision, with VETOs taking place in 2023:
USA – 2023. Over Israel vs Palestine.
Russia – 2023. Over Ukraine war.
China seems less of a threat to passing a VETO, with the last time they were the sole country to VETO being in 1999.
Since its creation, Russia has used its veto 128 times and the USA 85 times. Whereas China, only 19 times.
The last time the Uk or France were the only ones to be the only country to veto were both in the 70s over their colony land.
what is the function of the UN general assembly and when has it been successful?
function: The UN assembly is the only body in the UN where all countries have equal representation. The General assembly has its own president, who is voted in each year by all member states representatives. Each member country has one vote, and most decisions are decided by a 2/3 majority. Assembly resolutions are not binding on any member state. The general assembly sets the annual budget for the UN, and appoints the non-permanent members of the UN.
successful: The UN can be seen as a forum for “north-south dialogue” - allowing for states in the southern hemispheres interests to be listened to and debated by more influential countries. More than 2/3 of all countries in the UN are developing countries, this has enabled them to greatly influence the nature of debate and what topics should be discussed. For many developing countries, the UN is the main source of diplomatic discussions, and they are reliant on its forum in order to patriciate in well-rounded debate on the future of their country.
^There can also be “observer states” within the UN general assembly – who are not members yet, but still can engage in debate – for example, Palestine. This therefore enables true well rounded debate amongst all countries across the globe.
why may the UN general assembly be limited in its ability to fulfil its function?
Ultimately, their main function is to make recommendations, and provide a forum for debate. Yet this doesn’t mean that such debate will be actualized into action, or properly taken on board by individual member states. Currently, only 12% of their goals are on target to be complete by the 2030 deadline.
^Debate sessions only take place for 3 months out of the calendar year. Although emergency debate can be called, this is very unlikely. Furthermore, the topics of debate are decided 7 months prior to the actual debate – therefore limits their ability to respond to contemporary issues.
what is the function of the economic and social council and when has it been successful?
The ECOSOC can make policy recommendations on economic or social reform and serves as a forum for debate for different countries.
It is made up of 55 member states – therefore not all members are represented at one given time, yet this membership does rotate on a 3 year term (apart from the permanent 5) . Other than that, seats are assigned based on region, to ensure fair representation. Currently, Africa holds the most seats – at 14. Therefore, the ECOSOC fulfils its function of providing a forum for developing countries to voice concerns, as shown through the composition of the council.
They debate for 4 weeks every July and have one - off meetings in the year with representatives from the IMF and World Bank.
when has the economic and social council been unsuccessful?
The ECOSCO can make recommendations however does not have any decision making authority or power. it is placed under the authority of the general assembly and therefore lacks a lot of room for policy making.
Another problem is its size It only has 54 member states. Many countries within the UN do not feel adequately represented in the ECOSOC.
What is the role and function of the ICJ and when has it been successful?
The ICJ is made up of 15 judges and only settles legal disputes submitted by states themselves. Article 94 of the UN charter rules all UN members must abide by its ruling.
The ICJ provides advice and clarifies international legal principles.
success: solving border disputes that were building tension amongst communities. for example: Nigeria vs Cameroon over ownership of oil reserves.
when has the ICJ not fulfilled its function?
The ICJ cannot create a case itself, it is reliant on member states coming forward with a case they want to pursue. Many states also ignore its verdict, for example, Australia brought a case forward against Japan for illegal whale hunting. Japan originally accepted the verdict but a year later they continued hunting whales again. Whale hunting is only legal in international law if it is for research and research only – this was not the case in Japan as it was viewed as a national sport.
Equally, even countries like the US have been seen to ignore their ruling. For example in 1986 where the USA did not comply with the ICJ verdict which revealed they violated international law by supporting rebels in Nicaragua.
How has NATOs objectives changed since its creation in 1949?
NATO was founded in 1949 to prevent the growth and extent of communism in the world, and to maintain peace and order. Its membership grew larger over the cold war due to the security of Article 5 - this article states an attack against one is an attack against all.
Since the end of the cold war and the break down of the USSR, NATO now aims to maintain peace for its member states and can conduct global peace missions.
NATO listed China as one of its priorities for the first time in 2022, stating the growth of its influence challenges western values.
How has NATO been successful in the past?
Their combined military spending makes up 55% of global military spending.
NATOs intervention in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was facing allegations of persecuting minorities and Serbian soldiers terrorising citizens. NATO initially tried to implement a peace deal, yet when this failed, they begun bombing the capital of Yugoslavia until they came to a ceasefire. Many previous states who were apart of Yugoslavia are now their own countries and are apart of NATO - representing the long-term success of NATOs mission.
Given the fact WW3 hasn’t broken out since its establishment, can be seen as another sign of success. article 5 of collective defence seems so successful that other countries are desperately trying to join NATO - including Ukraine.
How has NATO been unsuccessful in the past and what is it that limits this success?
The language of article 5 in the north Atlantic treaty is fairly flexible. Although it deems an attack against one as an attack against all, it is up to the individual state what they think their own appropriate response should be.
^The treaty also states each individual country must go through their own constitutional processes in order to be actualised into action. Therefore in theory, congress or parliament could block or re-negotiate their own intervention.
Equally, in recent years not all members have been paying their annual 2% of GDP towards their NATO agreement. In 2024, only 18 of these countries are said to pay their 2% - with most of the countries falling short being in eastern Europe. This is an issue as eastern European countries are the countries within the agreement more likely to be attacked first.
^This led to Trump warning if countries didn’t start to pay their 2%, the USA would not intervene for those that did not pay. This shows a growth in tension amongst member states.
Equally the NATO intervention in Afghanistan is not viewed as a success for them. It took 7 months for all countries involved in the mission to come to an agreement - this delay was due to burden sharing disagreements. The withdrawal process from Afghanistan was a failure as the USA left behind weapons to the Taliban, and the names of those that co-operated with the American government.
what is the role and function of the IMF and when has it been successful?
The IMF was established in 1945 following the Bretton Woods conference. Its main objectives are to provide loans to struggling countries and reduce the likelihood of such issue occurring again.
A key role of the IMF is to respond to financial crises. The PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) have all received loans from the IMF to save themselves from bankruptcy. Recently the IMF has intervened in the Eurozone crisis (2008 onwards). The IMF will also advise states on how to run their economy, and if they feel like the state is unlikely to repay the loan, they will impose a SAP (structural adjustment program). Advise can be given in the form of data collection – for example during the Brexit referendum the IMF predicted that Britain’s GDP would shrink by 5.5% and go into a recession.
