IR0-07-02

QUESTION: After consulting the readings, what do identify as some of the biggest challenges IGOs face when attempting to preserve security? Is the United Nations Security Council successfully meeting these challenges?

Note : use below reference and quoted from this reference, show it how you utilize this ( below0 reference ) most of your writing.

Hurd, Ian and Bruce Cronin (eds.). 2008. The UN Security Council and the legitimacy of international authority. New York: Routledge. [Introduction only, pages 1-25]

Chaulia, Sreeram. 2011. Library of International Relations: International Organizations and Civilian Protection: Power, Ideas, and Humanitarian Aid in Conflict Zones. I.B. Taurus. Chapter 1, pages 17-22.

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/apus/reader.action?docID=10504520&ppg=7

What is Security?

International organizations address security issues and peacekeeping. Before we can understand how IOs contribute to security, it’s useful to have an understanding of the concept of “security” in hand. Broadly defined, “security” in international relations refers to the protection of people and actors in the international system. To more specifically define security might risk leaving out some of the many areas, theories, and threats that fall under this heading. On the other hand, broad definitions can sometimes expand to the extent that they lack any particular useful meaning.

The term “security” was long related to the idea of military action, with the assumption that the central recipient of security was the state. Over the last few decades the definition of “security” has been widened to encompass problems that cannot be always solved by militaries or confined to individual states. In other words, security was long conceptualized in terms of realism and the cold war context with an emphasis on military action, but has recently been expanded by proponents of other theories to include problems beyond state or national security. As the preceding list illustrates, many security threats are understood as transnational in scale and involve protection of populations and communities who transcend state boundaries (Hough 2008, 12-13, 20).

 

Even though the concept of security has moved away from a strict focus on the state-centered paradigm, the nature of threats are not always given proportional importance (e.g., concerning the number of people affected). For example, government security is often prioritized over the security of transnational populations (Hough 2008, 19).

 

Security Organizations  

The organizations most commonly associated with global security are the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but numerous regional security organizations also contribute. Regional organizations are different from other types of IOs because they tend to be defined by historical relationships, geographical proximity, or economic blocs.

Examples of regional organizations:

-       Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

-       The African Union (AU)

-       Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

-       Arab League (AL)  

Chapter VIII  of the UN Charter encourages multilateralism via the cooperation of the UN Security Council with regional arrangements for the maintenance of peace and security, but the language of the chapter stipulates that the Security Council retains primacy over other organizations in this regard.

 

One looming question about the role of international organizations and security is what the relationships among security IOs should be. For example, is a “division of labor” among many security IOs optimal, or should larger organizations like the UN bear the brunt of the work and authority, creating a globally coherent approach to security (see  Patrick 2012  for one discussion of the UN versus regional security organizations)?  

            The challenges associated with cooperation, consensus building, and tensions among competing actors and interests are one topic of our discussion forum this week.  

 

 

 

The United Nations Security Council  

The UN Charter grants the Security Council “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” (The Security Council).

The Security Council consists of:

-       Fifteen members total

-       Five permanent members with veto power (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States)

-       Ten members elected by the UN General Assembly with limited two-year terms

o   As of 2015, the ten elected members (and their end-of-term dates) are: Angola (2016), Chad (2015), Chile (2015), Jordan (2015), Lithuania (2015), Malaysia (2016), New Zealand (2016), Nigeria (2016), Spain (2016), and Venezuela (2016).

 

Security Council decisions:  

-       Are determined by open ballot voting, requiring nine affirmative votes to pass proposals

-       Each member gets one vote

-       Votes concern matters of

o   UN military action (against aggressors)

o   Economic sanctions and arms embargoes

-       Permanent members can overturn passed proposals with a negative vote; this is known as the veto power  

Questions and points of debate about the Security Council:

-       To whom is the Council accountable?

-       Should the permanent members have veto power?

-       Does the system of having permanent members privilege the interests of the permanent members, or render the Council ineffective on key decisions?

-       Are members of the Council more likely to receive funds from the IMF or World Bank?

-       Are the term limits of non-permanent members problematic?

 

Interactive task: Perhaps the most important question is whether the Security Council should be revised. Here's a video on this question produced by the Council on Foreign Relations. Pay attention to the main reason this question is asked: the international system doesn't look the same now as it did when the Council was formed. The arguments for reform are detailed after describing the distribution of power.