Unit 3: To what extent should internationalism be pursued?
Chapter 9: Nations, Nation-States, and Internationalism
Motives of Nations and Nation-States
All humans are motivated by both needs and wants.
Needs are the basic elements of life: water, shelter, food, clothing, health…
Wants are the things people want, regardless if the desired items contribute to their survival.
How Does Internationalism Benefit Nations and Nation-States?
After two terrible world wars in the 20th century nation-states began to work together to prevent similar wars and to improve everyone’s security and prosperity.
Internationalism and Peace and Security
The League of Nations had failed at keeping the peace after World War I. But, after World War II people did not give up on the idea of world peace. A new international body was formed to achieve this goal: The United Nations. The UN provides a forum for nation-states to discuss their disputes and concerns without resorting to violence. The UN has not stopped all armed conflicts, but there hasn’t been another world war.
Internationalism and Economic Stability
The countries that formed the UN believed that the great depression of the 1930s had helped to encourage ultranationalism. To prevent similar crises the UN created several new organizations:
–The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created to help nations recover from the destruction of WWII. Today they provide financial and technical help to developing countries.
–The World Trade Organization (WTO) replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995. The WTO tries to promote freer trade and settle trade disputes between countries.
Internationalism and Self-Determination
At the start of the 20th century, many parts of the world were colonies of European countries. As time went on most colonized areas gained their independence. However, in many places the voices of indigenous people have been ignored.
Indigenous people have begun to work together to gain Self-Determination in international organizations like the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA). After lobbying the UN for 20 years, the UN adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, which confirms their right to Self-Determination.
Internationalism and Humanitarianism
International organizations have been very successful at responding to humanitarian emergencies. For Example, the Tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004. More than 200 000 people in 11 countries were killed and millions more needed help. People over the world wanted to help and donations poured in. International relief agencies like the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders supplied food, clean water, and medical aid.
Nation-states and their responses to the world
When choosing how to respond to the world, nation-states can choose from a range of possibilities such as isolationism, unilateralism, bilateralism, multilateralism, and supranationalism.
Isolationism
This is when a country opts out of participating in international social, economic, political, and military affairs.
Examples of this:
–Japan: until 1854. They had complete isolation for two centuries. Foreigners and trade were discouraged.
–Switzerland: participates in some international affairs but refuses to take part in disputes and military alliances.
Unilateralism
Is when a country is motivated to respond to events on their own.
This became an issue during nuclear arms race, which pitted the USA and its allies against the USSR and its allies.
Bilateralism
When two countries are motivated by the same issue or need.
It is an agreement between two countries.
For example, Canada and the USA entered the Air Quality Agreement. Both countries are required to work towards reducing toxic emissions that cause acid rain.
Multilateralism
Includes many countries working together on an issue.
The United Nations and WTO are multilateral.
Supranationalism
This is an approach that involves agreeing to abide by the decisions of an international organization made up of independent appointed officials or representatives by member states.
Member states must give up some control of their own affairs and adhere to the policies of the organization.
Example: European Union.
Chapter 10: Foreign Policy and Internationalism
Setting Foreign Policy
In a democracy, setting foreign policy can be complex. The government must set a policy that reflects the citizens beliefs, values, and goals.
Many individuals, groups and collectives influence the governments decisions on foreign policy.
Foreign Policy Goals
Foreign policy goals help to guide the actions of governments.
It is important for a government to set goals that reflect the values of its citizens.
Along with governments, multinational corporations and international business, labour and humanitarian also play important roles when setting foreign policy goals and making.
Promoting Internationalism through Foreign Policy
Many countries use their foreign policy to help promote internationalism by supporting initiatives that encourage world peace.
Canada may develop foreign policies that encourage struggling states to become economically successful and self-supporting.
Some countries impose economic sanctions to promote peace. Economic sanctions are when countries cut off trade from a particular country to force it to follow a particular course of action.
An example of this is when the UN placed economic sanctions on Iraq. The hope was that it would force Iraq to co-operate with the UN.
In actuality, it hurt Iraqi’s more than it helped them. When the sanctions where into place, medicines such as the vaccine for Polio were on the no-trade list. Because of this, Polio re-emerged in Iraq.
Peacekeeping and Internationalism
When countries join the UN, they agree to support the actions of the Security Council (the most powerful decision-making body of the UN).
Countries are required to keep armed forces available for the Councils’ use.
This force is used to protect the collective security (protecting all those who belong from danger) of all UN members.
Peacekeepers are not peacemakers.
They are only sent into conflict zones when a ceasefire has been negotiated and they set up a buffer zone between the conflicting groups.
Peacekeepers help carry out agreements reached by the UN and the governments that have negotiated by these agreements.
They also protect people involved in humanitarian efforts.
Peacekeeper must adhere to the following guidelines:
–Consent – Peacekeepers must respect the sovereignty of the host country
–Impartiality – Peacekeepers must not take sides
–Self-Defence – Peacekeepers may use force only to defend themselves.
Most peacekeeping missions have been successful. However, in the 1990s there have been many failures.
One failure was in the former Yugoslavia. Despite the peacekeepers presence, the fighting and killing continued. The peacekeepers were helpless to do anything due to their limited numbers and orders to avoid using force. Genocide was also prevented against the Muslims in Bosnia.
In 1994, UN peacekeepers were unable to prevent genocide once again. This time in Rwanda.
Romeo Dallaire was in charge of the mission and warned the UN of a possible genocide. He requested more troops but was denied.
By the end of the conflict, more than 800,000 Rwandans were killed - most of them Tutsis.
International Law and Agreements
Co-operation among countries is important when the national interest or foreign policy of one country conflicts with that of another country.
To resolve this, international law has developed.
International law is based on international treaties, agreements, and conventions; UN resolutions; and widely accepted international practices.
International law is interpreted by the UN’s International Court of Justice, or World Court.
This court attempts to settle international disputes peacefully but not all countries cooperate. Some countries are reluctant to recognize its authority or abide by its decisions. This is because they do not want to give up the control make their own decisions.
An example of international law is the International Law of the Sea.
This agreement sets out the rules of the high seas – or waters that lie beyond the territorial waters of any country.
Territorial waters are those that extend 22 km from a country’s coast. It gives coastal countries the exclusive right to control fishing, mining and the environment in an area up to 370 km from shore.
Foreign Aid and Internationalism
Countries also promote internationalism by delivering foreign aid.
Every year billions of dollars are transferred from developed countries to developing countries.
The money is used to purchase medical supplies, food, clothing, and building supplies.
It is also sometimes used to develop infrastructure projects such as sewage treatment facilities and road building.
An example is:
–0.7 Per Cent Solution: This challenges the world’s richest countries to spend 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI). The GNI is the total value of the goods and services produced in a country in a year. To date, only Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have met or exceeded this target.
Criticism of Foreign Aid Policy
While many nations help others due to humanitarianism, there are those who help countries for strategic and political interests, as well as historical relationships between the two countries.
Sometimes, aid is offered in the form of tied aid. When aid is tied, it means that there are stings attached. Donor countries may issue credits that require the countries receiving the aid to buy goods and services only from them.
This has been criticized because sometimes the items are of poor quality.
Also, if a country can buy from other countries, they can receive a better quality product or they can buy from other developing nations. This promotes trade and helps boost the economy of developing countries.
Ensuring the aid arrives to those who need it and not to corrupt governments is also a challenge.
Another challenge is the time it takes to get to the people. Due to the size of the organizations and errors that can occur, shipments are delayed.
Canadian Foreign Policy and the Balance of National Interest and Internationalism
Countries try to develop foreign policy that balances their national interest and internationalism. Building strong relations with other countries is important but promoting ones national interest is just as important.
Striking a balance between national interests and internationalism can be difficult. Many events such as natural disasters or the attacks of Sept. 11/01 can change the world unexpectedly.
These events can change agreements and make them ineffective. Agreements then need to be renegotiated.
What are Canada’s continuing Foreign Affairs and International Trade priorities? Copy them into you notes. Page 237.
Chapter 11: Internationalism and Nationalism
How have changing world conditions promoted the need for internationalism?
As we become more interconnected to others around the world, challenges can no longer be confined to the borders of a single country.
An example of this is SARS. In 2002, it was an unidentified disease. A farmer had died from in. Three months later, an American traveling to China and died from the same illness. Those who treated him also became sick and the illness spread. By 2003, it was contained but the illness was reported in 26 countries.
The world faces the challenges of disease, terrorism and climate change. Because of these challenges countries need to co-operate to find multilateral solutions.
We are also interconnected now through technology. We can easily travel from one part of the world to another in a matter of hours. These promotes internationalism.
This can lead to the global village. People can relate to one another on a global scale through the internet. There are no barriers to prevent people from interacting with one another.
Not everyone has a positive attitude towards the global village.
In researching the social effects of the internet, researchers have found that people seek connections with those who have similar values to their own.
As a result, these people become less likely to trust important decisions from those who have differing values. For example, government.
This is called voluntary balkanization. This is the separation of like-minded people into isolated groups that are hostile to people whose values differ from their own. This separation may result in a lose of shared experiences and values and can harm the structure of democratic society.
How have the UN’s changing international responses affected nationalism?
There is much debate about the effectiveness of peacekeeping and peacemaking. Many do not feel that internationalism will bring peace to the world.
There have been many cases of aggressive states, failed states and revolutionary movements that have challenged international order and the goals of the UN.
The failures in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia have led some to question the effectiveness of the UN.
Because of this the UN has decided to re-examine its goals.
A panel of diplomats and international leader examined the future of the UN and came up with recommendations.
It was recommended that the UN relax its tradition of staying out of internal conflicts (conflicts that occur within countries).
The report states that the UN has the responsibility to protect people when the state violates or fails to uphold the rights and welfare of their own citizens. This intervention could take the form of humanitarian operations, monitoring missions, diplomacy or as a last resort, military force.
Iran’s conflict with the UN
Although a number of countries have already developed nuclear weapons, the UN is trying to limit the spread of these weapons because of the threat they pose.
Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons while allowing countries to develop nuclear facilities for peaceful purposes such as generating electrical power.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (Part of the UN) monitors whether countries are following the terms of the treaty.
In 2003, the IAEA reported that Iran had been secretly enriching uranium for the last 18 years.
This secrecy has aroused the suspicions of the Western members of the IAEA and they have called on the country to stop enriching uranium.
Iran has refused to stop claiming that it is in their national interest to create nuclear power.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country’s president, has made some very controversial statements in the past and this has led countries to believe that the uranium enrichment is not for nuclear energy but nuclear weapons.
Protecting Common Human Heritage
In 1945, the UN created the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.
UNESCO promotes international co-operation in the fields of education, science, culture, and communication and works to create respect for the shared values of every civilization and culture.
UNESCO has created a list of human cultural features that are important to all people. They believe that peace will be promoted if people know about and help preserve this common human heritage.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site could be a cultural site or a natural site.
In Canada, DinosaurProvincialPark or WatertonGlacierInternationalPeacePark would be natural sites.
Cultural sites in Canada would be the historic district of Old Quebec City or the L’Anse aux Meadows of Newfoundland where the Vikings first came to Canada.
There are also threats to common human heritage.
Countries control what happens within their borders. They control how infrastructure is designed and how to affirm and promote their culture.
UNESCO strives to protect these sites.
However, there are countries that feel these plans interfere with their plans.
In 2001, the Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed two ancient statues of Buddha. They destroyed these “idols” in the name of Islam.
How do the responses of various international organizations affect nationalism?
Just as there are forces that shape globalization, these same forces shape internationalism – trade, safer and faster transportation, and improved communications.
These forces increase the contact between countries on a governmental and non-governmental level.
Some believe that this is both beneficial and harmful. It allows for co-operation among nations but also may take away the sovereignty of nation-states.
Economic Organizations
The World Trade Organization is set to reduce trade barriers and promote growth and development that will improve the standards of living and reduce poverty in less developed nations. There are down sides to the WTO. Water is a commodity that be traded according to WTO standards. This means that Canada could be forced to sell water to the USA even if it’s not in Canada’s best interests.