international law and organizations

Question 1

What is international law?

Answer 1

A set of rules, norms, and principles that govern the relationships and interactions between sovereign states, international organizations, and sometimes individuals in the global community.

Question 2

What is the aim of international law?

Answer 2

To establish a framework for peaceful coexistence, resolution of disputes between nations, justice, and human development.

Question 3

What is a key limitation of international law?

Answer 3

It lacks a centralized enforcement mechanism; compliance relies on legal recognition by states and diplomatic means.

Question 4

What are international institutions according to Keohane (1989)?

Answer 4

Complexes of norms, rules, and practices that ‘prescribe behavioral roles, constrain activity, and shape expectations.’

Question 5

How do international institutions differ from international organizations?

Answer 5

International institutions are norms and rules that don’t necessarily have staff or offices, while international organizations have institutional frameworks plus organizational structures.

Question 6

What did the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) establish?

Answer 6

Sovereignty as the right of monarchs to maintain standing armies and levy taxes.

Question 7

What did the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) establish?

Answer 7

The territorial domain to sovereignty.

Question 8

What did the Treaty of Paris (1814) establish?

Answer 8

The Concert of Europe, limiting war among great powers.

Question 9

What did the Peace Treaty of Versailles (1919) establish?

Answer 9

The League of Nations.

Question 10

What did the UN Charter (1945) establish regarding the use of force?

Answer 10

Limiting the use of force to self-defense and collective peace enforcement.

Question 11

What did the Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonized Countries and Peoples (1960) establish?

Answer 11

It delegitimized European colonialism and established the right to self-determination.

Question 12

What are the four distinctive characteristics of modern international law?

Answer 12

1) Multilateral legislation, 2) Consent-based obligation, 3) Distinctive language and practice of justification, 4) Discourse of institutional autonomy.

Question 13

What is multilateral legislation in international law?

Answer 13

Legal arrangements between two or more states that are based on reciprocally binding rules of conduct.

Question 14

What is the primary source of international legal obligation?

Answer 14

Consent (states are obliged to observe norms because they have consented to these).

Question 15

What is ‘opinio juris’ in international law?

Answer 15

The recognition that states are observing a norm because it constitutes law, used as an indicator of tacit consent.

Question 16

What are the three ways international actors use analogies in legal reasoning?

Answer 16

1) To interpret rules, 2) To draw similarities between classes of action, 3) To establish the status of one rule with reference to other rules.

Question 17

What is meant by ‘institutional autonomy’ in international law?

Answer 17

The perceived distinction between a legal realm and a political realm, which adhere to different logics.

Question 18

What are the two traditional types of laws of war?

Answer 18

Jus ad bellum (when states can use force) and jus in bello (laws governing the conduct of war).

Question 19

According to the UN Charter, when is war justified under jus ad bellum?

Answer 19

Only in self-defense (Chapter 7, Article 51) or as part of a UN-mandated international peace enforcement action (Chapter 7, Article 42).

Question 20

What three categories can jus in bello be divided into?

Answer 20

Laws governing weaponry, combatants, and non-combatants.

Question 21

When was the International Criminal Court (ICC) established?

Answer 21

2002

Question 22

What crimes does the ICC prosecute?

Answer 22

Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.

Question 23

What is the argument that international law is a Western, imperial institution?

Answer 23

Its roots lie in European intellectual movements, it codified the ‘standard of civilization,’ and Western bias is still pervasive in legal institutions and application.

Question 24

What is the counterargument to the claim that international law is Western dominance?

Answer 24

Modern international law rests on customary norms of legal equality and self-determination, and non-Western states have been vigorous proponents of these norms and human rights regimes.

Question 25

What are the arguments against international law having real effect on international relations?

Answer 25

It's not real law without centralized authority, exists only to serve powerful states' interests, is too complex to be meaningful, and lags behind rapid changes in world politics.

Question 26

What are the arguments for international law having real effect on international relations?

Answer 26

It defines sovereign states and legitimate actions, provides crucial legitimacy to states, has high compliance levels, and its legitimacy is affirmed even when broken.

Question 27

How do realists view international law?

Answer 27

They are skeptical, believing it's only important when serving the interests of powerful states (means to an end).

Question 28

How do neo-liberal institutionalists view international law?

Answer 28

They explain how self-interested states can construct international legal regimes that benefit international society through greater stability (means to an end).

Question 29

How do constructivists view international law?

Answer 29

They consider it part of the normative structures of international relations that evolve and change with new dominant ideas (process).

Question 30

How does critical legal studies view international law?

Answer 30

It focuses on how the inherent liberalism of international law creates inequalities that curtail its radical potential (process that is inherently bad).

Question 31

What defines intergovernmental organizations?

Answer 31

Organizations established by international agreement/treaty or emanation, operating at the international level with actors from at least three states.

Question 32

What are hybrid international organizations?

Answer 32

Organizations marked by complex public-private multi-actor governance at the global level (e.g., Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria).

Question 33

When did modern international organizations emerge?

Answer 33

In the mid-19th century.

Question 34

What were the early 'apolitical' Public International Unions?

Answer 34

Organizations like the Universal Postal Union (1874) with secretariats and permanent staff.

Question 35

What is multilateralism in the context of international organizations?

Answer 35

Coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states.

Question 36

Why are international organizations important?

Answer 36

1) They are enduring once established, 2) They affect how states respond to complex issues affecting stability, 3) Their activities affect individuals' lives by reaching into domestic political processes.

Question 37

How does liberalism explain why states create IOs?

Answer 37

It's in the interests of people within states to have IOs to advance their common interests internationally (collective goods/absolute gains).

Question 38

How does realism explain why states create IOs?

Answer 38

States use IOs as diplomatic tools to determine rules that others must follow (self-interest/relative gains).

Question 39

How does social constructivism approach international organizations?

Answer 39

It asks how and why IOs emerge and behave, identifying when and how IOs take up international norms and spread them through the international system.

Question 40

How do critical studies (Marxism/Gramscianism) view international organizations?

Answer 40

They demonstrate how powerful states and elites use IOs to maintain their privileged position in the international order.

Question 41

What is the Principal-Agent Model of IO behavior?

Answer 41

Principals (member states) provide IOs with mandates and resources, while the Agent (IO) is given autonomy to undertake tasks on states' behalf.

Question 42

What is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?

Answer 42

A multilateral development bank established by China in 2015, focused on infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific, modeled on the World Bank but with different practices.

Question 43

Why did the US see the AIIB as a threat?

Answer 43

It perceived it as challenging US hegemony and as a rival to the Asian Development Bank (led by Japan).

Question 44

What was UNCTAD created for in 1964?

Answer 44

To promote international trade, seen as a challenge by developing countries to the dominance of GATT.

Question 45

What was the goal of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) pursued through UNCTAD?

Answer 45

To address the highly unequal international trade system by demanding resources and concessions from developed states.

Question 46

When was the UN established?

Answer 46

October 1945

Question 47

How many member states does the UN have?

Answer 47

193

Question 48

What are the four main purposes of the UN?

Answer 48

1) Maintain International Peace and Security, 2) Develop friendly relations among nations, 3) Cooperate in solving international problems and promote common development and respect for Human Rights, 4) Be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Question 49

What are the six principal organs of the UN?

Answer 49

General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat, and Trusteeship Council.

Question 50

Who are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council?

Answer 50

US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.

Question 51

How many non-permanent members does the Security Council have?

Answer 51

10

Question 52

What is required for a Security Council resolution to pass?

Answer 52

A majority of nine of the 15 members, including each of the five permanent members.

Question 53

What are the key issues in Security Council reform debates?

Answer 53

Veto question, categories of membership, regional representation, size of council, working methods, and relationship with the General Assembly.

Question 54

What is the G4 position on Security Council reform?

Answer 54

Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan seek permanent member status and enlargement of both permanent and non-permanent seats, including two permanent seats for Africa.

Question 55

What is the United for Consensus position on Security Council reform?

Answer 55

Led by G4 regional rivals, they support expanding elected members to 20 rather than reinforcing great power hierarchy.

Question 56

What is the African Union's Ezulwini Consensus on Security Council reform?

Answer 56

Two permanent seats with full veto rights plus three non-permanent seats for Africa.

Question 57

How many votes does each member state have in the General Assembly?

Answer 57

One vote.

Question 58

What majority is required for key issues in the General Assembly?

Answer 58

A two-thirds majority for decisions on international peace and security, admission of new member states, and the UN budget.

Question 59

Are General Assembly resolutions binding?

Answer 59

With a few exceptions, decisions are not binding—merely recommendations representing prevailing world opinion.

Question 60

What is the Secretariat?

Answer 60

The main administrative 'engine' of the United Nations, employing approximately 40,000 people worldwide, led by the secretary-general.

Question 61

What is ECOSOC and how many members does it have?

Answer 61

The Economic and Social Council coordinates economic and social work of the UN; it has 54 members with 3-year mandates elected by the General Assembly.

Question 62

What was the original purpose of the Trusteeship Council?

Answer 62

To provide international supervision for 11 special territories preparing for self-government or independence.

Question 63

Is the Trusteeship Council still active?

Answer 63

No, it completed its work with the independence of Palau in 1994 and is now dormant.

Question 64

What is the International Court of Justice?

Answer 64

The main judicial organ of the UN based in The Hague, consisting of 15 judges elected jointly by the General Assembly and Security Council.

Question 65

What is classical peacekeeping?

Answer 65

Establishment of a UN force under UN command placed between parties after a ceasefire, using weapons only in self-defense, established with host state consent, not including forces from major powers.

Question 66

How does peace enforcement differ from classical peacekeeping?

Answer 66

It emerged after the Cold War to bring hostile parties to agreement and does not require consent of the parties.

Question 67

What is 'human security' in the UN context?

Answer 67

Increased attention to threats to global peace from civil conflict, humanitarian emergencies, human rights violations, poverty, and inequality.

Question 68

What was ONUC (1960-64)?

Answer 68

The original UN peacekeeping mission in Congo that oversaw withdrawal of Belgian troops and supported the government's attempts to restore order.

Question 69

What is MONUSCO?

Answer 69

The renamed version of MONUC, authorized to use all necessary means to protect civilians and support the DRC government in stabilization efforts, scheduled to withdraw by end of 2024.

Question 70

What controversy surrounded the 2003 intervention in Iraq?

Answer 70

While military intervention had not been formally approved by the Security Council, there were differing views about whether the UN had condoned military action, damaging UN credibility.