7.5 International decision making

Question 1

Who are the global policemen?

Answer 1

After WW2, in 1945, President Franklin D Roosevelt proposed the USA, UK, Soviet Union and China would form the ‘four policemen’ and guarantee peace. This became the UN consisting of 193 countries

Question 2

What things must the UN respond to?

Answer 2

Crisis response
Conflict prevention
Climate change response- Conference of the parties

Question 3

What is the UN security council like today?

Answer 3

The four policemen and France make up the 5 permeant seats on the UN Security council. These 5 countries have a veto power and so can stop any decisions they don’t like.
There are 15 members on it at any one time and so more than 50 UN member states have never been members of the council.

Question 4

What is the benefit of not all UN member states not being on the UN security council?

Answer 4

It keeps out extremist countries, whose human rights policies are not progressive and inclusive

Question 5

What is the disadvantage of not all UN member states not being on the UN security council?

Answer 5

Not everyone gets a fair say and it can lead to tyranny of the minority from superpowers

Question 6

What actions can the UN Security council take to maintain peace?

Answer 6

-authorizing use of military force
-authorizing a UN peacekeeping Force: troops occupy a country or region under the UN flag to keep peace in a conflict but doesn’t ‘take sides’
- applying sanctions to countries that are deemed a security risk, harboring terrorism or states invading elsewhere or breaching human rights

Question 7

Why is authorizing UN peacekeeping forces not always effective?

Answer 7

they rarely ever a;; agree to do this and often struggle to take over the country just as much as an opponent does at war.

Question 8

What are examples of UN peacekeeping missions?

Answer 8

Kuwait 90-94, Bosnia 98, Republic of Congo 04-09

Question 9

Is the UN security council effective in getting done what it needs to?

Answer 9

In short, no. The veto power means that if one country disagrees then the action cannot go ahead. With such competing ideologies, China and Russia rarely agree with France, the US and UK and this has been clearly seen in the Ukrainian conflict

Question 10

What is an example of the UK giving crisis response?

Answer 10

Britain contributed over US$1.5 billion of aid to the 2015-16 crisis in Syria. The UK has focused on aid for refugees in nearby countries and by focusing on their quality of life in source countries, the UK hopes to prevent migrants being trafficked into the EU

Question 11

What is an example of climate change mitigation?

Answer 11

actions of countries after agreements at the regular COP meetings under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Global policy such as the 1989 Montreal Protocol on the stratospheric ozone layer can have a significant impact

Question 12

What is the climate problem in Kiribati?

Answer 12

The island is disappearing underwater. Most of its people now live on the island of Tarawa and many of the people living here have had to dismantle their homes on the coast and move inland, increasing population density. However, many are completely leaving the island becoming the world’s first environmental refugees

Question 13

What recent agreement has been significant from UN COP meetings?

Answer 13

The COP in 2015 lead to the 2015 Paris agreement. 55 countries agreed to it, (between them, they are responsible for 55% of global emissions). This aims to make sure climate warming doesn’t go over 1.5 degrees, but most countries are struggling to properly commit to taking action

Question 14

Which countries have been climate change deniers, slowing down the agreement process?

Answer 14

there are deniers in Australia (who are the largest emitter per capita) and Trump caused a major setback as he retracted the US from the 2015 Paris agreement

Question 15

How effective was the crisis response in Haiti in 2016?

Answer 15

Among many of the regular donors, ‘aid fatigue’ had begun to be felt, meaning Haiti appeal for assistance only brought 25% of the money it needed. It was left to the US and France to provide 550 personnel and humanitarian aid

Question 16

How did NGOs and IGOs respond to the storm in Haiti in 2016?

Answer 16

NGOs like the Red Cross launched appeals for US$7 million, while IGOs like UNICEF sought $5million from UN funds to provide aid for 500,000 Haitian children

Question 17

How was the war prevented in Bosnia by the UN and NATO?

Answer 17

First ground war after WW2 as a result of the post cold war break up. There was mass genocide, rapes and war crimes
-UN enforced a no fly zone
-UN also tried to create safe zones
-A NATO led naval blockade in the Adriatic
-NATO airstrikes against the Bosnia Serbs forced an end to the conflict and helped with the signing of the 1995 Dayton Accord which ended the war

Question 18

What could be a similarly significant reason for a fall in CO2 emissions as COP agreements

Answer 18

Some important actions have come about due to changes in superpower status, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union which helped to reduce the number of polluting factories and inefficient state farms

Question 19

Why has the UN security council been slightly more successful since 1991

Answer 19

since the end of the cold war when vetoes reflected hostility between the US and USSR

Question 20

How did super powers respond to Iran’s nuclear programme?

Answer 20

Sanctions were placed by the EU, UN and US with the UN forcing an arms embargo and freezing assets. Iran’s economic situation slowly deteriorated as it was denied oil exports and found importing technical equipment increasingly difficult. Iran was forced to end its nuclear programme in 2015

Question 21

How did superpowers respond to the Ebola epidemic between 2014 and 2016?

Answer 21

Ebola has a mortality rate of 50-70% and had devastating effects when it broke out in West Africa
- The USA, UK and France led response programmes in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea
-In Sierra Leone, the UK committed £430 million, 1500 troops and 150 NHS personnel
-Work of NGOs like the National health organisation was vital

The epidemic led to 11,300 deaths and ended in 2016

Question 22

How many members are now in the UN?

Answer 22

193

Question 23

What does the international court of justice do?

Answer 23

Judiciary branch of the UN based in The Hague in the Netherlands. It settles disputes between UN member countries and advises on international law - its judgement’s are generally binding. It has 15 judges who who each represent different global regions (the 5 permeant members of the security council always has a judge in court). The courts only deal with cases brought by individual countries and not TNCs or people

Question 24

What are some of the recent decisions made by the ICJ?

Answer 24

Settling a dispute between Bolivia and Chile: Bolivia is a landlocked country but has a navy and the Chilean government was resisting giving Bolivia access to its coastline

Question 25

Who are NATO?

Answer 25

Formed in 1949, at the start of the cold war, it’s a military alliance that adopts the principle of an attack on one is an attack on all

Question 26

When recently has NATO been significant?

Answer 26

Russian activity in Ukraine and Crimea in 2014 and present and Georgia in 2008, as well as Russian naval and air exercises in European waters and airspace has brought NATO to the forefront

Question 27

Who are ANZUS?

Answer 27

Australia, New Zealand and United states security treaty is a 1951 security agreement that binds these countries together to operate on military decisions in the Pacific and beyond. It has helped to maintain the US presence in the Pacific and has led Australia and New Zealand to provide forces for Afghanistan

Question 28

Who are the EU?

Answer 28

The EU has 28 member states and is a free trade area. However, subsequent agreements have extended the EU’s remit e.g. free movement of people and a common currency for 19 members

Question 29

How has the EU been a force for good for the countries in it?

Answer 29

Its economic strength ensures against poverty and tries to reduce inequality between its richest and poorest members. Its influence also extends to environmental issues and human rights under the European Convention on human rights, which is enshrined in all European law

Question 30

Who are NAFTA?

Answer 30

The North American Free Trade Agreement consists of the US, Canada and Mexico. Its concerns are solely economic and there is no free movement of people.

Question 31

Who does NAFTA benefit?

Answer 31

It benefits the US, because labour costs are cheap in Mexico and therefore has led to a drift of manufacturing there

Question 32

Who has threatened the NAFTA agreement?

Answer 32

In 2016 election campaigns, Trump vowed to tear up the agreement for fear of greater loss of employment for the US

Question 33

Who is ASEAN?

Answer 33

The Association of Southeast Asian nations comprises of 10 counties and was formed in 1967 to encourage greater cooperation and economic growth between them as well as cultural cooperation and legal frameworks

Question 34

Who is the IPCC?

Answer 34

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 by the UN. It produces reports which support the UNFCCC. It does not do its own research, but instead funds peer-reviewed scientific publications and assembles evidence, enabling UN members to understand the risks created by climate change and its impacts

Question 35

How did superpowers respond to the Haiti earthquake in 2010?

Answer 35

A huge relief operation was led by the UN
-The US Air Force restored air traffic control to Port Au Prince’s airport to allow relief flights to come in
-US coastguard helicopters began relief flights to assist with rescue and delivered food and water
-1600 US marines arrived by sea to provide humanitarian aid and technical help

Question 36

What was the consequence of the soviet union leaving a power vacuum in Afghanistan?

Answer 36

By 1995 The Taliban Group gained much control. They enforced programmes of radical Islamic law, including restrictions on women
The Taliban - hitherto supported by the west - gave protection to Saudi militant Osama Bin Laden, who organized the 9/11 attacks

Question 37

What was the response to the 9/11 attacks?

Answer 37

The US seeked to destroy training camps and kill militant leaders. Coalition troops captured Afghan cities, and supported the Northern Alliance, a group of Afghan resistance fighters. A new president was instilled, easing women’s dress and schooling codes, training an Afghan army and introducing democratic elections