Review Handout - Final Exam §

(F) Day of the week: Friday Class: IS201 Created Time: January 31, 2020 12:50 PM Database: Class Notes Database Date: January 31, 2020 12:50 PM Days Till Date: Passed Last Edited Time: February 24, 2022 2:06 PM

Copy of Review (Final Exam).pdf.pdf)

Comprehension Questions §

1. In today’s world liberalism better explain how international relations operate than realism. Firstly, just like the liberalism theory, the world has been getting more and more interdependent on one another. This means going to war is less beneficial than making trade connections throughout the world. The current powers do not have to have a large and powerful military or weapons force, they could possess the economical influence on many countries instead, this is displayed in countries such as Singapore and Japan nowadays. Secondly, the current world has a stronger “global government” figure in the shape of international organizations such as the United Nations and also international laws to back them up. As many countries are joined in this organization it makes sanctions, interventions, warnings, and peacekeepings much more legitimized and powerful. In opposition to realism, today’s international institutions are not tools of the superpowers anymore, international laws and IOs keep countries in check and deter countries from acting up wars.

2. The first challenge that faces the United Nations today would be the excessive use of the P5 veto powers. In the last decade, in numerous cases, the UN were unable to pass resolutions to stop mass atrocities or war crimes due to the P5 veto or the hidden veto from the P5 alignments. For instance, China’s veto against actions to stop the Rohingya genocide and the United States and France’s hidden veto of dealing with the Rwanda genocide. There are actions put forward to deal with the issue since the early 2000s such as the “Responsibility to Protect”, “the Code of Conduct”, and “the French/Mexican initiative”. However, these initiatives are proposed as only “soft-laws”, meaning they hold no binding power, acting as only a recommendations for behaviors.

3. The United Nations was shaped by four meetings and international organizations in the past. The first was the Concert of Europe as a series of 30 meetings, which introduced multilateral decision makings, collective security, special great power status, and the UNSC’s legitimacy. Next up was the Public International Union as a functional organization dealing with insensitive matters. The union passed on functionalism and the civil service model. Another was the Hague System, which were 2 conferences in Hague, Netherlands. It passed on the concept of conflict resolutions, universality of membership, procedural innovations, and codification of international law. Lastly, the predecessor of the UN itself was the League of Nations. Although the league failed in stopping the second world war, it did leave behind an already established framework for what did and did not work.

4. The United Nations charter sets out 4 main goals and objectives for the organization. First is to maintain international peace and security. This means preventing another world war and solving conflicts peacefully. Secondly, the UN wants to develop the relations among nations, to endorse economic trades, interdependence, and collective security. Thirdly is to foster cooperation between nations to solve international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems. Lastly, the United Nations will act as the platform or forum to bring countries together through diplomatic actions to meet the UN’s purposes and goals that are set out.

5. There are many actors within the United Nations that have differing interests as well as their key roles of their own. The United Nation’s Secretary General acts as good office for mediation, leader of the secretariat, and a variety of other important tasks in the United Nations. As time goes on, the UNSG became more and more influential and as the face of the UN as a whole due to it’s vague job description. The five permanent members are also very influential with their major financial contributions, founding of NGOs, enforcers of the UN charter and the use of veto power. Germany and Japan has been very persistent in funding the UN in the hope to gain spots on the P5 of their own. However due to their past actions of Germany as the aggressor of WW1 and Japan as the aggressor of WW2 they are less likely to be given the power. Lastly, the middle power are countries that have relatively decent economies and populations relative to the super powers. They also have a big impact on the UN because they are found to be more reliable in support of the UN financially than the bigger powers are.

6. There are 7 approaches or mechanism that UN use to deal with international peace and security. Peaceful settlements are four methods of dealing with a conflict between two nations. First, negotiation is the act of the two countries communicating and finding a solution to the problem peacefully without outsider’s involvement. Secondly, mediation happens when it is agreed upon by both parties that an outside state will help deal with the situation and find a solution to the problem. Thirdly, conciliation is when formal commissions are tasked to make a detailed plan of actions for both countries in dealing with the situation. Lastly, good office is when the UNSG acts as the communication channel for the conflicting parties who would not talk face to face. These methods are nonbinding solutions, meaning they are only recommendations on what actions should be taken to avoid further conflict. Another approach for dealing with conflicts is enforcement mechanism, which is divided into four methods. First, sanctions are put onto countries to stop inflow of finance and resources in the country, however this negatively affect the population more than the elites. Smart sanctions are the alternative, where elite’s Transaction and financial assets of elites are frozen. Thirdly is the military sanctions, which are arms embargo; stopping arms from going in the country; and resource blockage; to stop inflow of arms producing resources.