Division or unification Devolution or Suprantionalism FR Devolution

Division or unification? Devolution or Suprantionalism? FR

Devolution: • breakup of a state • the granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at a subnational level • Very different from federalism (provinces within a country can make their own laws) • Examples Yugoslavia (Balkans), former USSR, Austria Hungary after WWI, India

Supranationalism: • Collection of states working together • political power given to a higher authority above the state (country) government Examples: EU, NAFTA, UN, NATO, WTO

supranational organizations: collections of individual states with a common goal that may be economic and/or political in nature; such organizations diminish, to some extent, individual state sovereignty in favor of the group interests of the membership.

The more states participate in such multilateral associations, the less likely they are to act alone in pursuit of a selfinterest that might put them at odds with neighbors.

States cooperate with each other for the following reasons: military political economic

Examples of Military Cooperation: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)- a cross. Atlantic military alliance/organizatio n An attack against one is an attack against all.

The growth of NATO was a major concern to Russia, where this has become a leading political issue. Russia’s sense of encirclement on the Eurasian landmass has always been a factor in Russian nationalism.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization original purposes of the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to NATO and the United States and in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas bordering both Russia and China

Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union, formed in 2004. More a version of the United Nations Security Council than a true military alliance. South American Defense Council (SADC) of the Union of South American Nations, developed form 2008. Full extent of provisions yet to be agreed. South Korea and the United States entered into a military alliance following the Korean War.

Examples of political cooperation: African Union (AU): a cultural alliance to promote shared goals and resolve disputes

• Arab League: a multinational alliance of Muslim states in North Africa and Southwest Asia.

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization (supranational) whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace established at the end of World War II.

Over the past half century, the number of sovereign states in the world has increased by more than a hundred

• It now includes 193 member states (not including the Taiwan, Kosovo, or the Vatican)

The United Nations is not a world government; member states participate voluntarily. Although member states do not formally yield any sovereignty to the UN they may agree to abide by specific UN decisions.

At the very least, the UN provides a place for the nations of the world to have dialogue.

In a world where free trade and marketbased development continues to grow, the UN has successfully improved: • problems of infant mortality, • nutrition, • education • in many parts of the world.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action.

International Economic Sanctions: penalties imposed by one or several states on another state to compel that state to amend its behavior. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, and import duties. The most famous example of an economic sanction is the fifty-year-old United States embargo against Cuba.

Economic sanctions are not always imposed because of economic circumstances. For example, the United States has imposed economic sanctions against Iran for years, on the basis that the Iranian government sponsors groups who work against US interests.

The United Nations imposed stringent economic sanctions upon Iraq after the first Gulf War, and these were maintained partly as an attempt to make the Iraqi government co-operate with the UN weapons inspectors' monitoring of Iraq's weapons and weapons programs. These sanctions were unusually stringent in that very little in the way of trade goods were allowed into or out of Iraq during the sanction period.

There is a United Nations sanctions regime imposed by UN Security Council against all Al. Qaida- and Taliban-associated individuals. The cornerstone of the regime is a consolidated list of persons maintained by the Security Council. All nations are obliged to freeze bank accounts and other financial instruments controlled by, or used for the benefit of, anyone on the list.

There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of 5 veto-wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) 2009 map

and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms.

One proposed measure is to increase the number of permanent members by five, which, in most proposals, would include Brazil, Germany, India, Japan (known as the G 4 nations), one seat from Africa (most likely between Egypt, Nigeria or South Africa) and/or one seat from the Arab League. On 21 September 2004, the G 4 nations issued a joint statement mutually backing each other's claim to permanent status, together with two African countries. Currently the proposal has to be accepted by two-thirds of the General Assembly (128 votes).

The UN does not have its own army, so the Security Council borrows forces for each mission from the armies of member countries. Peacekeeping: nonaggressive use of military force to help nations in conflict reach a settlement.

The UN’s peacekeeping forces play a neutral role, working to calm regional conflicts in several ways. They can:

• go into an area of conflict as observers, making sure agreements reached between opposing sides are being followed. • provide a buffer between warring parties by physically interposing themselves in the middle.

• negotiate with military officers on both sides, providing a channel of communication.

• monitor cease-fires, supervise elections, and provide humanitarian aid.

Despite problems, the United Nations’ peacekeeping role has continued to grow, and its successes have far outweighed its failures. In places such as East Timor and Kosovo, for example, UN peacekeepers have helped bring stability after upheavals in the late 1990 s.

More than 40, 000 peacekeeping troops from some 80 UN member states

Are serving in: Bosnia, the Congo, Croatia, Cyprus, East Timor, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Georgia, Iraq/Kuwait, Kashmir, Kosovo, Lebanon, various parts of the Middle East, Sierra Leone, and Western Sahara.

Why do some Americans hate and fear the UN? The UN constrains the United States by creating the one coalition that can rival U. S. power—that of all other nations. Gun control Death penalty System of measurement

The United States has a streak of isolationism in its foreign policy that runs counter to the idea of the UN.

Multilateralism: decision making and participation by more than two countries, parties, etc.

Unilateralism: one sided decision making and participation. Unilateralism may be preferred in those instances when it's assumed to be the most efficient.

Multilateralism may involve multiple nations acting together as in the UN or may involve regional or military alliances, pacts, or groupings such as NATO.

Proponents of multilateralism argue that it would provide a country with greater resources, both militarily and economically, and would help in defraying the cost of military action. However, with divided responsibility inevitably comes divided authority, and thus slower military reaction times and the demand that troops follow commanders from other nations.

“The Bush Doctrine" came to describe the controversial policy of preventive war, which held that the United States should depose foreign regimes that represented a potential or perceived threat to the security of the United States, even if that threat was not immediate; a policy of spreading democracy around the world, especially in the Middle East, as a strategy for combating terrorism; and a willingness to unilaterally pursue U. S. military interests.

Debates about unilateralism recently came to the forefront with the Iraq War. While over 30 countries have supported the U. S. policy, some previous American allies, such as France, Germany and Turkey, are not participating. Many opponents of the war have argued that the United States is "going in alone" in Iraq without the support of multilateral institutions —in this case NATO and the United Nations.

Advocates of U. S. unilateralism argue that other countries should not have "veto power" over matters of U. S. national security.

Proponents of U. S. unilateralism generally believe that a multilateral institution, such as the United Nations, is morally suspect because, they argue, it treats non-democratic, and even despotic, regimes as being as legitimate as democratic countries.

Examples of Economic Cooperation: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is a cartel of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela .

Its principal goals are to • eliminate the harmful and unnecessary fluctuations in the price of oil • securing a steady income to the producing countries • Produce a regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, • and produce a profit to those investing in the petroleum industry.

OPEC's influence on the market has been widely criticized, since it became effective in determining production and prices. Arab members of OPEC alarmed the developed world when they used the “oil weapon” during the Yom Kippur War by implementing oil embargoes and initiating the 1973 oil crisis.

Escalation in oil prices caused severe economic problems during the 70 s

OPEC's ability to control the price of oil has diminished somewhat since then, due to the subsequent discovery and development of large oil reserves in Alaska, the North Sea, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, and the opening up of Russia.

OPEC nations still account for two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, and, as of April 2009, 33. 3% of the world's oil production, affording them considerable control over the global market. As early as 2003, concerns that OPEC members had little excess pumping capacity sparked speculation that their influence on crude oil prices would begin to slip.

Examples of economic cooperation: Often called trading blocs: a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade (tariffs and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.

NAFTA: The North American Free Trade Agreement (Jan. 1994) a free-trade area between the U. S. , Canada and Mexico; provides for the tariff-free movement of goods and products, financial services, telecommunications, investment, and patent protection.

The top three countries receiving California exports in order are: Mexico, Japan, Canada The top 3 countries, in order, that sent tourists to California: Mexico, Japan, Canada

Other economic trading blocs (not on test): • The majority of the Caribbean island-states, with Belize in Middle American and Guyana in South American, are linked in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) • Central American Common Market, with seven members extending from Guatemala to Panama. • The Andean Group: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia • Southern Cone Community Market • MERCOSUR: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. • ECOWAS: the Economic Community of West African States. • APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Council) • CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States): former republics of the USSR

The largest economic organization is the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements.

The WTO has 153 members, representing more than 97% of total world trade and 30 observers, most seeking membership

World Trade Organization (WTO): sets up the ground rules of international trade (tries to eliminate trade barriers) suprantional in scope

The best example of supranationalism is: the European Union: an economic and political union of 27 member states.

Western European countries have increased economic integration by: • lowering and eliminating trade barriers • allowing labor to move freely • coordinating a common foreign policy • creating a centralized fiscal policy (common currency)

The population of 500 million inhabitants, generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16. 5 trillion) of the nominal gross world product in 2009. As a trading bloc the EU accounts for 20% of global imports and exports.

European countries have different cultures but similar Ideology: • democracy • rule of law • market economy Switzerland is not a member

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU). The currency is also used in a further five European countries and is consequently used daily by some 327 million Europeans. Over 175 million people worldwide use currencies which are pegged to the euro, including more than 150 million people in Africa.

The euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the U. S. dollar. As of June 2010, with more than € 800 billion in circulation, the euro has the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U. S. dollar. Based on IMF estimates of 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity among the various currencies, the eurozone is the second largest economy in the world.

Euro-zone: The EU counties using the euro

U. K. , Sweden, and Denmark do not use the euro. They worried that a shared European currency would threaten their national identity and governmental authority.

Expansion of EU: • Under the rules of the EU, the richer countries must subsidize the poorer ones • Economically weak countries will become a burden

Turkey and others want in the EU but their poor human rights record (Kurds) or lower economic level keeps them out. An unspoken sense among many that Turkey is not “European” enough to warrant membership.

Changes resulting from supranationalism in Europe FR • • political stability less conflict/increase in military power economically stronger free trade/lowering and eliminating trade barriers labor can move freely euro/Common currency rich countries subsidize the poor ones centralized fiscal policy

• diminishes state sovereignty or loss of local autonomy

Changes resulting from devolution in Europe • new states • political instability • conflict/war • migration (from fighting) • economic instability

Areas the EU and the USA disagree • the U. S. farm bill • steel tariffs • the international criminal court • global warming • Convention against torture – jail inspection

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) any nonprofit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level. ex: Doctors without borders Amnesty International World Wildlife Fed.

Supernational organizations have become a reality because the state system is an inadequate instrument for dealing with world issues and problems. Interstate cooperation is so widespread around the world that a new era clearly arrived.