psir210 international organizations. week 4 and 5

PSIR210 International Organizations. Week 4 and 5

International Organizations Historical Antecedents The League of Nations The United Nations The European Union The Organization of Islamic Conference The African Union The Associations of Southeast Asian Nations Non-governmental Organizations Multinational Corporations

The foundation of international organizations was built by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia the existence of a number of states functioning as independent political units; International organizations themselves did not appear until the nineteenth century; The 1814-1815 Congress of Vienna The Concert of Europe - agreement to meet at fixed intervals;

The delegates at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) were motivated by the desire to benefit Europe as a whole. National interest was modified for the sake of the general interest of Europe.

The aim; drawing a plan to alter Europe politically and territorially so as to prevent the extensive expansion of any one great power, such as Napoleon. Main goals; creating a balance of power among the powerful nations of Europe, reinstating conservative regimes, containing France, and reaching an agreement to cooperate with each other, supporting the overall purpose of preventing future widespread conflict.

The final settlement at Vienna demonstrated the first international group to attempt to deal with European affairs, the main purpose of the Concert being to preserve the balance of power and protect conservative governments from being overthrown. The fact that the Congress of Vienna was conducted with the aim of preventing universal war, which led to proposals of creating a balance of power, establishing "better" conservative governments, containing France and cooperation between the great powers to meet these ends clearly demonstrates that the welfare of all of Europe was a relevant concern( a common concern). After much deliberation, the delegates succeeded in creating a final settlement which adjusted the selfish goals of the individual nations to acquire large expanses of territory to support the balance of power.

Economic and social developments growing interdependence and Industrial Revolution the need for co-ordination between states; Commerce and communication were increasingly internationalized: 1821 an international commission for the Elbe, 1831 for the Rhine, 1856 for the Danube rivers; 1868 International Telegraphic Bureau (later named International Telegraphic Union ITU) 1875 The International Bureau of Weights and Measures

Public and private groups and influential individuals in many European countries and in the US played significant role in planning how to maintain peace in the post WWI period US President Woodrow Wilson expressed commitment to the establishment of a security organization - a general association of nations as part of his plan for peace in his famous Fourteen Points presented to the US Senate in 1918 Leon Bourgeois of France designed an elaborate system of sanctions General Jan Smuts of South Africa suggested a system of mandates and institutional design of a new body Lord Phillimore of Great Britain, initiated works of a group of influential diplomats and lawyers and drafted a plan for a League.

The Peace Conference convened in Paris, on January 18, 1919; The plan for a League of Nations was agreed to become a part of the peace treaty; The Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted by a nineteen-member committee composed of two representatives from each of the great powers and one representative from each of the smaller participating states President Wilson was appointed chairman of the Committee.

The first draft of the Covenant was adopted on February 14; The final draft of the Covenant was unanimously adopted by a plenary session of the peace conference on April 28, 1919; The Covenant entered into force on January 10, 1920 after the Treaty of Versailles being ratified; Sir Eric Drummond was appointed the first Secretary General of the League of Nations.

The plans for the establishment of the League relied heavily on the experience of the previous hundred years: the congress and concert systems, the public international unions and the two Hague meetings of 1899 1nd 1907; The wartime experience the experience of Allied cooperation during the war played a significant role.

The League of Nation's task was simple - to ensure that war never broke out again. After the turmoil caused by the Versailles Treaty, many looked to the League to bring stability to the world.Versailles Treaty The only way to avoid a repetition of WWI was to create an international body whose sole purpose was to maintain world peace and which would sort out international disputes as and when they occurred. This would be the task of the League of Nations.

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia.World War OneRussian RevolutionRussia The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies.

The League of Nations was created. This did happen even if Germany was initially excluded from it.League of Nations Land had to be handed over the Poland, France, Belgium and Denmark. All overseas colonies were to be handed over to the League. All land taken from Russia had to be handed back to Russia. Germanys army had to be reduced to 100,000 men. Germanys navy was reduced to 6 battleships with no submarines. No air force was allowed. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria. Germany had to accept the "War Guilt Clause" and pay reparations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pPmZ m-zs-k

Institutional design: The Assembly composed of the representative of all members of the League; The Council composed of the representatives of the principal Allied and Associated Powers, together with representatives of four other members of the League; The permanent Secretariat; The seat of the League was Geneva.

Article 8 recommended the reduction of armaments and the limitation of the private manufacture of armaments; Article 10 the members of the League undertook to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League; Article 11 Any threat of war () is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations.

Articles 12-16 outlined how states in dispute should conduct their relations (mediation, conciliation, arbitration, the Permanent Court of International Justice) States resorting to war in violation of their obligations from the Covenant, were deemed to have committed an act of war against all other Members of the league, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to severance of all trade of financial relations; Article 18 all new treaties were to be registered and published by the Secretariat of the League of Nations.

During the early years of its activities, the League generated high hopes that it would be able to prevent major conflict; The activities of the League were motivated by memories of 1914-1918 war; During the 1920s the League provided a useful addition to international diplomacy - regular annual meetings between member states representatives allowed discussion on threats to peace and security(e.g. in conflict between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925, Turkish- Iraq dispute over Mosul)

The League facilitated/inspired the conclusion of a number of important international treaties: - The 1928 Briand-Kellog Pact (General Treaty for the Renunciation of War) - The 1925 Locarno Treaty (guaranteed French-German-Belgian borders) The League provided valuable coordination platform for international efforts (e.g. in the field of protection of refugees); Protection of minorities was placed on a regular international footing.

The system created in 1919 was not allowed to prevent the Second World war in 1939; The league became an empty shell abandoned by countries unwilling to involve themselves or give teeth to the Leagues Covenant; The failure of the US to join the League undermined the Leagues claim to universality and its hopes of taking effective action outside Europe - in Ethiopia, Manchuria and in Latin America;

Full-scale military aggression by Italy against Ethiopia (Abisynia) in 1935 brought a number of economic sanctions which were undermined by British and French concern not to push Italy into the arms of Germany. In 1936 sanctions against Italy were abandoned; Japanese attacks on China and her occupation of Manchuria from 1931 marked the unwillingness of the Leagues members to act in Asia without US support. In 1938 The League approved the application of sanctions against Japan by individual members; A number of Latin American states left the League.

The League of Nations represented both a radical (the first international organization for promoting peace and cooperation between member states) and a conservative (based on existing international order) trend in international relations; The whole League system can be seen as a crucial link which brought together the pre-1914 international organization and wartime cooperation into a more centralized and systematic form on a global scale, thus providing a stepping stone towards the more enduring United Nations.

It was the lack of will of the members rather than an available means that accounted for ineffectiveness of the League; The League was ill equipped to achieve its goals; An international organization with real enforcement powers was incompatible with the principle of absolute national sovereignty.

During the 1930s the European political system which had helped to create the League of Nations came under attack from revisionist states Germany, Japan, Italy.

The League of Nations represented both a radical (the first international organization for promoting peace and cooperation between member states) and a conservative (based on existing international order) trend in international relations; The whole League system can be seen as a crucial link which brought together the pre-1914 international organization and wartime cooperation into a more centralized and systematic form on a global scale, thus providing a stepping stone towards the more enduring United Nations.

It was the lack of will of the members rather than an available means that accounted for ineffectiveness of the League; The League was ill equipped to achieve its goals; An international organization with real enforcement powers was incompatible with the principle of absolute national sovereignty.

psir210 international organizations. week 4 and 5

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