Politics Unit 2

• Issues that require international cooperation include technological developments, trade, conflict, and environmental issues
• Technological developments


  • In November 2023, China agreed to work with the United States, European Union and other countries to collectively manage the risk from AI at a British summit
• Trade


  • World Bank and World Trade Organisation have been created
  • However, free trade is in danger. Countries, such as China and the US, have increasingly tried to manipulate the global economy to their advantage. In 2018, Trump placed a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminium imports
• Conflict


  • Liberals claim that globalisation has reduced conflict. This is because nation-states need to cooperate in intergovernmental organisations (e.g. the WTO), in order to resolve collective dilemmas.
  • However, around the world conflict is on the rise. For instance, nationalism is a well-known threat to peace. This has been the case in Syria where the civil war has led to increased regional tensions involving Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Nationalism has also been cited as a reason to explain Russia's war against Ukraine
• International Terrorism


  • Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, international cooperation has increased. For example, in 2018 the UN Code of Conduct Towards Achieving a World Free of Terrorism was signed by over 70 countries
• Environmental Issues


  • A number of international conferences have been held in recent years to combat climate change. For example, the Paris Climate Change Agreement 2015.
  • Also, at the COP28 Summit in December 2023, a climate deal was approved by almost 200 countries, which offered a "robust plan" to keep the target of 1.5C within reach
• Globalisation


  The process through which the world becomes more closely interconnected and interdependent
• Nation-state


  A sovereign political community defined by shared characteristics, such as common heritage, identity, ethnicity and culture
• Interconnectedness


  Mutual reliance of two or more groups
• WTO


  Stands for World Trade Organisation. It regulates international trade
• Intergovernmental Organisation

  An entity created by a treaty. It involves two or more nations working together on issues of common interest
• Non-governmental Organisation


  Non-profit organisations which work with governments, regional organisations and intergovernmental organisations to achieve their social, political and environmental objectives (e.g. Oxfam and Save the Children)
• Liberalism


  A theory of global politics which is based on an optimistic interpretation of human beings' capacity for cooperation. National states are not simply trying to maximise their power. Instead, they can work together to resolve collective dilemmas and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes
• The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 European countries (e.g. France and Ireland)
• The aims of the EU are to promote peace, protect the environment, protect freedoms of citizens and establish an internal market and monetary union
• The Maastricht Treaty established a common EU citizenship and changed the name of the EEC to the EU


  1992
• At the Maastricht Treaty (1992) the principle of monetary union was agreed. In 1999 the euro was introduced as a trading currency and in 2002 the founding member states of the eurozone physically replaced their existing currencies with the euro
• The four freedoms of the EU

  • The free movement of goods
  • The free movement of services
  • The free movement of money
  • The free movement of people
• A referendum was held in the UK. 52% of voters voted to leave the EU. This was called Brexit


  2016
• The UK formally left the EU

  31 January 2020
• Arguments for EU membership

  • The EU has helped open Northern Ireland to the world
  • The EU's Erasmus programme has encouraged educational exchanges across the EU
  • From 1973 up to 2018 Ireland was a net recipient of over €40 billion in EU funds
  • As EU citizens, Irish people can live and work freely in any Member State
• Arguments against EU membership


  • The UK contributed more to the EU than it got directly back
  • The EU has been accused of having a democratic deficit at its heart
  • The EU favours bigger countries
  • The Schengen Agreement has left France "overwhelmed" with migrants trying to reach the UK
• Factors which cause conflict within and between countries include desire for independence (nationalism), economic and trade issues, ethnic and cultural differences, moral and religious differences, and leaders' quest for popularity
• Desire for independence (nationalism)


  • Yugoslavia (1990s). Nationalism was a key factor. Slovenia and Croatia broke away to form independent states in 1992. In 1993, further conflict erupted in Bosnia, with Bosnian-Serb nationalists determined to remain part of a greater Serbia
• Economic and trade


  • The USA and China began a trade war against each other in 2018
• Ethnic and cultural


  • Rwanda 1994: Tutsi and Hutus
• Moral and religious differences

  • Yugoslavia: Bosniaks vs. orthodox Christian Serbs
  • Iraq: Shia-Sunni divide in Iraq sparked a civil war between 2006 and 2008
  • Israel conflict: as roughly 97% of Palestinians are Muslim and some 74% of Israelis are Jewish, the conflict easily lends itself to a religious framing
• Leaders' quest for popularity

  • Kim Jong Un (North Korea)
  • Putin (Russia)
  • Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (Israel)
  • President Xi (China)
• The UN has 193 members and six main organs set up in 1945: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat
• Some leaders are deliberately provocative in their foreign policy, which may lead to the risk of conflict. For example, Xi's decision to deliberately cross the Taiwan Strait in 2019
• Arguments against the statement

  • Some of the most notable conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries have been caused by cultural and religious differences. For example, Muslims and Jews in Israel/Palestine, Iraq Civil War and Rwanda between Hutus and Tutsis
  • Desire for independence (e.g. Yugoslavia)
  • Economic and trade factors can lead to conflict – when countries are threatened by the economic success or growth of others or engage in trade wars or boycotts
• 193 members
• The UN has six main organs, which were all set up in 1945

  • The General Assembly
  • The Security Council
  • The Economic and Social Council
  • The International Court of Justice
  • The UN Secretariat
  • The Trusteeship Council
• The current Secretary-General of the UN is António Guterres
• The UN


  Was established after World War II in an attempt to maintain international peace and security and to achieve cooperation among nations on economic, social, and humanitarian problems. The UN was also set up to promote and encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
• Resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly are not legally binding
• A draft resolution was put forward by Arab states which called for a ceasefire in Gaza. In December 2023, this passed with a large majority of 153 in favour and 10 against, with 23 abstentions. Israel ignored the resolution
• The United Nations has used mediation in order to maintain peace successfully in places, such as North Korea
• Palestine and the Holy See are not member states of the UN
• The Security Council


  Is the most important UN organ for maintaining peace and security in the world