Effectiveness of the UN and NATO Flashcards
effectiveness of the United Nations and NATO as peace-making and peace-keeping organisations
UN successes + NATO successes
declining use of the veto in the UNSC
UN failures + NATO failures
UN successes
firstly, both the UN and NATO can be seen as highly effective peace-making and peace-keeping organisations due to the numerous successes of both bodies
the UN, in particular, has been extremely active, approving peacekeeping operations, military intervention and sanctions across the world, many of which have been highly successful and effective
since its establishment, there has not been a World War Three, inter-state war has decreased considerably and it has worked hard to successfully secure peace in many different conflicts
in 1990, it was successful in peace-making when it mandated military action to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait and then authorised the establishment of UN safe havens within Iraq in 1991 to limit Saddam Hussein’s aggression towards his own citizens
another UNSC success can be seen in Sierra Leone (1999 – 2005) when UN peacekeepers successfully prevented the country from relapsing into conflict while a peace agreement was put in place
UN soldiers helped to destroy thousands of weapons and disarm thousands of fighters, including child soldiers
Sierra Leone now provides peacekeeping troops of its own in Somalia
both of these cases illustrate that the UN is very effective in maintaining international peace and security
NATO successes
similarly, NATO has had many successful missions too
for example, NATO’s role in ending the fighting in the Balkans and subsequently maintaining peace has been very positive and highly effective
it launched large-scale air operations and deployed approximately 60,000 soldiers under Operation Joint Endeavour
NATO, by its bombing of the Bosnian Serb positions in 1995, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the fighting in Bosnia, demonstrating its effectiveness in peace-making and peace-keeping where other organisations had failed
declining use of the veto in the UNSC
moreover, within the UN, veto use has become significantly less frequent which allows the UN to effectively maintain and build peace
since the early 1990s, veto use by the P5 in the UNSC has decreased significantly
during the Cold War (1947 – 91), the rivalry between the USA and USSR saw 193 vetoes used
in contrast, only 12 vetoes were used in the UNSC between 1990 and 2003
this has allowed the UNSC to achieve a lot more in recent decades and since 1948, it has authorised around 69 peacekeeping missions globally
even when a gridlock does occur, this does not necessarily prevent the UNSC taking action
for example, it can subcontract military action as it did to US led forces during the Korean War and to regional bodies such as the African Union in Darfur – demonstrating that the UN is not always unable to act, it merely has to operate within the constraints of what its most powerful members perceive as their national interest
this makes the UNSC a more effective body in passing resolutions and taking collective action, suggesting that while the existence of veto power does pose some problems, the UNSC and the UN as a whole is still effective in peace-making and peace-keeping
UN failures
however, both organisations have also faced many failures, which limits the overall effectiveness of these bodies in peace-making and peace-keeping
the UN has failed to maintain international peace on many occasions because even when agreed, resolutions may not be implemented effectively
for instance, the UNSC resolution to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was largely ineffective and did not prevent future conflict
Syrian government forces were still using gas bombs against rebel forces and in 2017, a suspected government forces chemical attack took place in a Syrian town, killing at least 74 people and injuring around 550
peacekeeping missions have often been under-resourced, leading such missions to be ineffective
this was the case during the Bosnian Civil War (1991-95) when peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN-declared safe zone
NATO failures
turning to NATO, perhaps one of its biggest failures was in Libya
the action taken, such as establishing ‘no fly zones’ and providing air support to rebel forces, successfully secured the overthrow of Gaddafi but following this overthrow, NATO failed to engage in the necessary nation-building and peace-building and, as a result, Libya is now in a state of anarchy with rival militias and ethnic groups violently divided
as was the case with NATO intervention in Afghanistan, ISIL is now operating within Libya
arguably, instead of reducing the threat of terrorism and fostering peace across the globe, NATO action in Libya and Afghanistan has had the opposite effect, instead leading to a rise in terrorism as the overthrow of regimes has led to instability, thus allowing organisations like ISIL to extend its influence
these tragic failures of both NATO and the UN suggest that they may not be entirely effective in peace-making and peace-keeping
