political and economic global governance

UN, NATO, WTO, G7/G20, IMF

UN- origins and development

a successor to the league of nations formed in 1945

aims where set out in the un charter

• to maintain international peace and security

• to promote friendly relations between states

• to protect human rights

• to uphold international law

this can all be seen in how it does frequent peacekeeping missions currently 11 going on using 90,000 personal

UN-security council-strengths

represents the realities of world power

• powerful countries have the largest say

Can be a powerful force when acting collaboratively​

• sanctioned military forces swiftly in Libya in 2011

Represents an ideal of upholding the UN Charter and maintaining world peace

• there has not been another global war since ww2

• a total of 71 peacekeeping missions since it began

UN security council- weaknesses

Often powerless to make decisions due to permanent member rivalries and clashes of interests

• during the cold war the us and USSR where in competition with each other so very little could get passed could not prevent soviet invasion of Hungary and Czechoslovakia

• anytime something happens in Ukraine it gets vetoed by Russia likewise with Israel and the us

​Gives too much power to very powerful states so is undemocratic​

• veto means any of the permanent five can prevent something from happening

• couldn’t prevent us invasion of Vietnam Iraq and Iran

Represents the world order of 1945. Should France and the UK now be members?

• the UK and France have completely died out as world powers

​Geographical regions not represented. e.g., South America and Africa

• shows it needs reform

​Hard to reform as permanent members must agree to changes

• something must get all P5s members approval to change and 2/3 of the temporary members this is unlikely to happen

UN general assembly strengths

provides a global platform for states of the world to peacefully speak

much more representative of the world than the UNSC

• all 193 states have membership including the state of Palestine having observer status since 2012

diversity means priority’s of the global south are better represented

• sustainable development goals to be met by 2030 which aim to achieve equality and eradicate poverty and hunger

UN genral assembly weaknesses

can only make non binding resolutions

states are represented by there government

• states such and China and Saudi Arabia are not democratic so the people aren’t really being represented

UNSC and UNGA are both responsible for appointment of secretary general so veto’s can still be used

• current leader is from portugal

un economic and social council strengths

the millenium development goals mean the number of people living in povert has fallen by 50% and now over 59% of the worlds population has safe drinking water

the new sustainable development goals are set so by 2030 everyone will have equality and safety

can reflect the concerns of countrys in the global south

un economic and social council weaknesses

is very tough to organise as it spreads over so much stuff

many states that benefit from it are members themselves and assistance can often go where its not needed the most because of corruption

membership has increased but nothing has been done to change the structure

UN strengths peacekeeping

has succesfully manged to prevent a third world war

• soliders cannot fire first and are not from western countrys

• currently 11 missions with over 90000 personannel

UN strengths human rights

the human rights declaration 1948 was the first time to set out universal human rights

• cant use torture in a trail for evidence

UN strengths international law

the ICJ has successfully enforced international law across the world

• precdied over nearly 200 cases and can deliver legally binding rulings

UN weaknesses peacekeeping

cant always effectively peace keep

• during the Bosnia war Dutch peacekeeping forces failed to prevent a massacre of 8000 Muslim men

UN weaknesses international law

often not respected in conflicts

• the Iraq war 2003 the USA invasion of Iraq was lawful

UN weaknesses human rights

human rights abuses have still been persistent even with laws in place

• 1994 Rwanda genocide

role of the international monetary fund (IMF)

supervising exchange rates

• originally all currencies where tied to the value of the dollar to promote stability however this was abandoned in 1971 and now the imf watched over it (bretton wood conference)

lender of the last resort

• providing low interest loans where country’s are in crisis the UK received one in 1976 when they where facing economic crisis and many got then after 2008

surveillance

• monitor trends in global economy to ensure member states are sensible in 2022 warned Liz truss that her tax cuts would destable UK finances

technical assistance

• provides economic expertise to countrys that need it

role of the world bank (WB)

original aim was to reconstruct Europe post ww2

then focused on helping the developing world

• the millennium development goals and the sustainable development goals with the intent to end extreme poverty

has helped with global healthcare

• provide $12 billion to fund covid vaccines in 78 countries during the pandemic

also provides advice to countrys

IMF weaknesses

dominate by the US

• they have nearly 17% of the vote significantly more than any other country which effectively gives them veto power

• it is hosted in Washington so they have disproportionate influence

developing countries are underrepresented

• the institute priorities wealth emerging powers votes are not reflective of there new wealth

promotes neo liberal economies

• it encourages free trade and discourages state intervention poorer countries cannot impose restrictions on imports which would help them due to the structural adjustment program

what is the structural adjustment program

loans with conditions that are required by the specific countries such as free trade and capitalism

• can undermine the sovereignty of the recipients Greece where forced into taking a loan

• can encourage a cash for crop situation (Tanzania where forced to grow coffee beans as they can get money quickly for it)

IMF strengths

will lend to countrys that have no other way of getting money

• uk recieved $3.9 billion in 1976 when there economy was unstable

played a major role after the 2008 financial crash

• helped countries such as Greece and Portugal get back on there feet

voting rights are gradually being changed to accurately reflect the current systems

• india and brazil both have over 2% of the vote