Topic 8: EQ3 Flashcards
What are geopolitical interventions?
Geopolitical intervention is the exercise of a country’s power in order to influence the course of events outside of its borders. Usually, this is in the form of economic strength, where powerful (superpower) nations seek to assist or mould less-powerful countries.
What are the possible motives behind geopolitical interventions?
1) Offering development aid to the poorest and least-developed countries
2) Protecting human rights
3)Encouraging education and healthcare
4)Strengthening security and stability
5) Promoting international trade and protecting trade routes
6) Accessing resources
7) Encouraging inward investment
8) Providing military support
9) Increasing regional or global influence
What are the 4 main methods of geopolitical intervention?
1)Development aid
2)Trade embargos/economic support
3)Military aid
4)Military action
What is development aid?
-This is where aid (usually financial, but can be commodities or services) is provided by wealthy nations to the less deb nations in order to help these nations develop.
-They can be bilateral or multilateral, and the majority of financial aid given by developed countries is recorded by the OECD as Official Development Assistance (ODA). The majority is given in bilateral aid, as if helps for string, healthy connections between countries.
Which countries provide the most development aid?
Only 6 countries give more than the 0.7% of GNI as development aid which the UN asks for. This includes Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark, Netherlands and the UK.
In terms of monetary value, the USA gives the most, at just over US$30billion, but this is less than 0.7% of their total GNI.
What is trade intervention?
Tariffs, quotas, trade blocs, embargoes and sanctions can all be used as trade interventions.
-Trade embargoes are government or international bans that restrict trade with a particular nation, and they are used to encourage a country to change their policies.
-Often are used in response to a threat to international security. e.g in 1980s embargoes were placed on oil and military supplies to South Africa, pressurising the government to change its racial segregation policy.
What is military aid?
This consists of money, weapons, equipment or expertise given to a developing country to help them protect their borders, fight terrorism and combat piracy or drugs, as well as human trafficking.
The US military gives US$1.3billion to Egypt to help protect the Suez Canal (crucial to USA’s trade), as well as protect its borders. Also gives $3.1 billion military aid to Israel.
What is military action?
-Most governments and IGOs will use military action as a method of last resort, when all other intervention has failed. It can either be direct action (e.g US air strikes in Iraq to attempt to overturn Saddam Hussein), or indirect (e,g providing military assistance such as the British Army training Nigerian forces in 2017 to help height Islamist militants.
What two scenarios may cause military action to occur?
-Military action may be taken at the request of a country concerned.
E.g. when the government of Mali asked for French help to fight back against Islamist militants who had taken over large parts of the country.
-Military action may also be taken to protect people from their own government.
E.g. 1999 NATO used air strikes in support of the Serbian province of Kosovo when the Serbian government began a crackdown against ethnic Albanian Kosovans.
What may cause the difference in opinion on the validity of an intervention?
- Different perspectives or aims.
- The perceived ‘real’ reason for the intervention (is it to help or intervention for self interest).
- Research by UK universities showed that civil war is 100x more likely if the country has large oil reserves.
- Opposing views about whether the outcome is likely to be achieved or potentially made worse.
- Concern over a disregard for national sovereignty
- Disagreements over the whether the intervention is proportionate to the issue.
What type of development aid do recipient nations like most?
Technical assistance, e,g the transfer of expertise, technology and education. This can often contribute more to the human development than capital loans, and means that the recipients don’t get a build up of debt as they might do from financial loans.
What does ODA (official development aid) usually target?
It is usually multi targeted, but often include promoting respect for human rights, as well as confronting poverty, terrorism, HIV/AID as well as poor governance.
In 2013, Vietnam received $3,000million to help it transition into a market economy.
What are some examples of interventions being promoted by IGOs?
-World Bank intervention
-World Trade Organisation’s intervention
-UNESCO’s intervention
How does the World Bank promote intervention?
Although it originated as a facilitator of post war reconstruction, it is now committed to the alleviation of poverty. They give a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries, with whom they form a partnership to reduce poverty and support development.
How does the World Trade Organisation promote intervention?
They are the only global organisation which deals with the rules of trade between nations. The rules are negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations, and ratified in their parliaments. Their goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers, to conduct their business.
How does UNESCO promote geopolitical intervention?
Their purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science and culture to further respect for justice, the law and human rights. It also promotes cultural diversity and aims to secure the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
What was the mission set out by the IMF to intervene with human right’s approval?
They aim to foster the monetary co-operation, secure financial stability, facilitate global trade and promote high employment around the world. They will use data to monitor economic performance, and where appropriate they will recommend self-correcting policies.
What do the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development aim to do?
They promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. It provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. They can also work closely with governments to understand what conditions will drive economic, social and environmental change.
They will also recommend policies that are designed to improve the quality of people’s lives.
How are amnesty international aiming to intervene?
They are focused on the investigation and exposure of human rights abuses around the world. They lobby against governments and powerful bodies such as TNCs, now it combines its considerable international reputation with the voices of grassroots activists on the spot to ensure that the UDHR is fully implemented.
They also educate people on their rights.
What is the Human Rights Watch?
Similarly to amnesty international, they’re constantly on the lookout for violations of the UDHR. They will happily name and shame non-complaint governments through media coverage and direct exchanges with policymakers.
Who are oxfam?
-After being founded to initially deal with the hunger and starvation which prevailed in the Second World War, they’re now focused on attempting to lift people out of poverty and improving health.
-They also aim to assist those affected by conflicts and natural disasters, and also campaign on a range of issues such as women’s rights.
Who are MSF (Doctors without Borders)?
They believe that all people should have equal rights to medical care regardless of their race, religion or their political opinion. They promote healthcare and medical training in over 70 countries, and will provide emergency care during conflicts.
They are religiously, economically and politically independent.
What is National Sovereignty?
This is the idea that each nation has a right to govern itself without interference from other nations.
Why is National Sovereignty important?
-It is a fundamental principle of international law. The UN states in it’s charter that ‘nothing should authorise intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state’.
-However, some governments have abused the rights of their own people through genocide, imprisonment and torture. With other nations then taking action due to the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ it is clear that the sovereignty of the country has come to its limits.
How was the National sovereignty of Libya challenged?
-In 1969, President Gaddafi seized power and then ruled unchallenged for 42 years. This was until 2011 whenLibyans began to protest against his government.
-Hundreds of demonstrators were killed or injured, and when the Libyan gov was seen to have failed to ‘protect its civilians’, the UN used force such as airstrikes from British and French air forces, while also putting an embargo on Libyan airspace so Gaddafi couldn’t bomb his population.
What was the controversy surrounding the intervention of Libya’s sovereignty?
-The intervention wasn’t widely supported - Russia, China, Brazil, India and Germany voted against the decision. This was because they felt:
-There was insufficient evidence to justify interfering
-The action may of set a precedent for the international community to have a say in how they treated their own populations.
-The real reason for the intervention was regime change
-Intervening in the name of human rights is inconsistent, often abuses in powerful western countries is ignored.
What issues have now been caused following the intervention of NATO on Libya?
Despite Gaddafi dying and a new government being put in place, many areas of the country are outside of official government control, and rebel groups are now fighting over each other in an attempt to gain political power.
Which NGOs may intervene against human rights violations?
-OXFAM
-Amnesty International
-Human Rights Watch
-Doctors without Borders (MSF)
These broadly fall into two differing groups: those concerned primarily with human rights, and those more focused on human development and aid.
