4 - The United Nations and Contemporary Global Governance

Global Governance

Refers to various intersecting processes that create order in the behavior of states, even in the absence of a single world government

United Nations (UN)

Which organization is the most prominent intergovernmental organization in the contemporary global governance?

Global democracy, good governance

Concept such as “______________” or “______________” can influence how international actors behave within the framework of global governance

International Organizations (IOs)

Groups, primarily made up of member-states, that include organization like the UN, IMF, and world bank

International Intergovernmental Organizations

Organizations composed primarily of member-states, which often have a signficant influence on global standards and policies

Power of classification

The ability of IOs to create and apply categories, such as the UNCHR’s definition of “refugee”

Power to fix meanings

The ability of IOs to establish definitions for terms like “security” and “development,” impacting how states and organizations address these issues.

Power to diffuse norms

The ability of IOs to spread accepted codes of conduct or standards, influencing global behavior and policies

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

An IO responsible for defining “refugee” status, which affects how states respond to refugees

Joseph Stiglitz

A Nobel Prize-winning economist who criticized the IMF for its “one-size-fits-all” approach to economic recommendations for developing countries

Norms

Accepted codes of conduct or standards that may not be laws but guide regular behavior in international relations

International Organizations (IOs)

What is the common term for groups like the UN, IMF, and World Bank?

They were merely venues for discussing contradicting state interests

What fallacy did scholars in the 1960s and 1970s believe anout IOs?

To include safety from environmental harm

How has the United Nations (UN) recently expanded the definition of “security”?

Through independent bureaucracies staffed with experts

How do IOs diffuse norms across the world?

Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore

Which scholars identified the powers of classification, fix meanings, and diffusing norms in IOs?

“one-size-fits-all” approach

What criticism did Joseph Stiglitz have about the IMF?

amalgamations

One common misconception is that international organization are merely _________ of various state interests.

Classification, fix meanings, diffuse norms

According to Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore, IOs have the power of _______, power to _____, and power to _________

refugee

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) is responsible for defining the term _________ which has real-world implications for how states handle migration.

Joseph Stiglitz, one-size-fits-all

_____________, the economist who won a Nobel Prize, criticized the IMF for its “_______________” approach to developing countries

General Assembly (GA)

The UN’s “main deliberative policymaking and representative organ”

Security Council

The UN body considered the most powerful, tasked with maintaining international peace and security

China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States

The five permanent members of the Security Council or P5:

Veto power

The power held by each P5 member to stop any Security Council action with a single vote

Carlos P. Romulo

Filipino diplomat who served as president of the UN General Assembly from 1949 - 1950

NATO intervention in Kosovo

A military intervention by NATO due to the UN Security Council’s inability to act because of a veto from P5 member

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

A claim used by the United States to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2001, which was later proven to be incorrect

Coalition of the Willing

The alliance led by the United States to invade Iraq after the UN Security Council vetoed intervention

Five

How many active organs does UN have?

193

How many member states are in the General Assembly?

Annually, for a one-year term

How often is the President of the General Assembly elected?

15

How many members are in the UN Security Council?

Ten members, elected for two-year terms

How many of the Security Council members are elected by the General Assembly?

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Which organization intervened in Kosovo after the UN Security Council was rendered ineffectual?

The civil war in Syria

What conflict demonstrates the UN Security Council’s limitations due to the veto power?

Russia

Which P5 member threatened to veti any SC resolution against Syria?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Who is the ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Syrian Conflict?

Russia, China, and France

Which P5 members vetoed the UN resolution for intervention in Iraq?

Iraq’s Saddam Hussein

When the United States sought to invade Iraq in 2001, who do they claimed that had weapons of mass destruction (WMD)