Unit 13 Study Notes.docx

Unit 13 Study Notes Feeling insecure in the international system can be the result of real threats and violence or the imagined threat one feels. Whether a state is under direct attack from another or whether it merely feels its values and culture are threatened due to the influence of another state...

Unit 13 Study Notes Feeling insecure in the international system can be the result of real threats and violence or the imagined threat one feels. Whether a state is under direct attack from another or whether it merely feels its values and culture are threatened due to the influence of another state in the international system, insecurity may indeed be present. The United Nations and the Security Council The United Nations (UN) was formed in 1945 as a specialized agency of sovereign states. It has many roles including as a forum for political discussion, a security organization, and as an institution of economic development. The primary objective of the UN, though, as evident in the very first line of the UN Charter is to manage conflict. The greatest fear during the Cold War era was of nuclear war. During the Cold War, five states acknowledged their nuclear weapons capability: first the United States, then the Soviet Union (USSR), Great Britain, France, and China. These five countries became known as the Possessing Five, or Permanent Five (P5), because they were given a permanent seat on the Security Council of the United Nations. NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 to counter the threat posed by the USSR and its allies. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has undergone a reformation; taking on new member states, including some from the former Soviet bloc, as well as new missions in areas of the world that are not in the North Atlantic (such as Afghanistan). NATO, though, is at a crossroads. 70 years of alliance behaviour has brought greater cooperation between North America and Europe, which has also facilitated better political and economic relations. But with the threat of war with the Soviet Union gone, NATO’s critics argue that the organization is irrelevant. Supporters counter that new threats such as terrorism, rogue states, and weapons of mass destruction – combined with the advantage of working with former Soviet allies – means that NATO continues to have an important role to play. Human Security Since its emergence in the post Cold War era, the concept of “human security” has created controversy in security studies. The term itself suggests that the individual’s protection comes – not just from their state – but also from access to wellbeing and quality of life. Human security entails the protection from threats that accompany aspects of non-territorial insecurity, such as environmental scarcity and mass migration, human rights violations, and genocide. Conclusion As witnessed in the post 9/11 world, human rights are both secured – and threatened by – the sovereignty of states. It is, after all, the state that was created to protect citizens from attack and to ensure their well-being. But it is also this very principle that potentially might threaten the security and rights of those individuals.