Transcript Slide 1

Learning Recap!
The relationship between
the developed and the
developing world is a neocolonial one?
Superpower Geographies
2. Impacts and influences of Superpowers
a) The changes from colonial rule to indirect neo-colonial rule
b) Key roles in international decision making, policy and
action
c) Control of trade
d) Superpower influence in the idea of developing a ‘global
culture’
Learning objectives
To understand what Inter-governmental Organisations are and what
they do
To understand the impact of IGOs
To assess the role of IGOs in promoting superpowers
International Organisations or
Intergovernmental Organisations
- IGOs
• Make key decisions about
– World economy
– Politics/Conflicts
– Environmental issues
Who are likely
to be the key
players?
• Small number of key players on IGOs
• Often created by superpowers post war as a way to
promote cooperation and reduce conflict
• Critics say created by superpowers for superpowers
• Some key IGOs include United Nations, NATO &
Davos Group
International Decision Making
Key players and groups:
The United Nations (UN) • The UN General Assembly
• The Security Council
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
The G8
Davos Group
The World Bank
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
For each of these players and groups we must
identify:
-Function
-Directly or indirect involvement or decision making
-Members
-Impact
Power in IGOs
• Big overlap in membership of IGOs
• USA, EU dominate many – allows IGOs
focus to follow their interests
• Often have a veto
• Lot of mutual support – has effect of a
block vote
• USA and EU work together to promote
or block policies they favour
What impacts and influence do superpowers have?
Controlling international decision making
International
decisions
UN security council
IMF more than 3% votes
WTO
G8
Politics
NATO
OECD
World bank
Economics
Military
What impacts and influence do superpowers have?
Controlling international decision making
Before we find out
what these agencies
do – let’s research
which agencies the
following countries
are in/ have control in:
Complete the table
with a tick or cross.
G8
International
decisions
Politics
WTO
Extension:
What other
agencies
could we
include?
UN security council
World bank
Economics
Military
OECD
Organisati
on
G8
UN sc
NATO
OECD
IMF 3%
Canada
Some EU
countries
Japan
IMF
Russia
UK
NATO
USA
China
India
4.2 What impacts and influence do superpowers have?
4.2.2. Controlling international decision making
Before we find out
what these agencies
do – research which
agencies the following
countries are in/ have
control in:
Complete the table
with a tick or cross.
G8
Politics
WTO
Organisati
on
Canada
Some EU
countries
G8


World
Japan bank
International
decisions
Russia
Economics


UN security council
UK

USA
Military

China
Extension:
What other
agencies
could we
India
include?
n
N
OECD
UN sc
N

n
IMF 

NATO

N
NATO


n
n


n
n
OECD



n


n
N
IMF 3%
n


n



n
votes
1. United Nations
• Created 1945
• Headquarters in New York
• Annual budget $1.8 billion
• 16 specialised agencies with
headquarters in France, Italy
Canada & Switzerland
Logo
The United Nations
• Function is to facilitate international law and
security, economic development, social
progress and human rights as well as achieve
world peace
• Founded in 1945 after World War II in
replacement of the League of Nations
• It has 192 member states.
UN Members and Paymasters
Greenland & Western
Sahara among the few
non UN members
Who pays most
to fund the UN?
What impact
might that
have?
UN Agencies
Do you know the following UN agencies?
FAO
UNESCO
WHO
UNICEF
United Nations Secretary
General
Who am I?
What is my
job?
Ban Ki-moon
• The Secretary-General of the United
Nations (UNSG), is the head of the
United Nations Secretariat, one of the
principal organs of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General also acts as the
de facto spokesperson and leader of the
United Nations.
• The current Secretary-General is Ban
Ki-moon of South Korea, who took
office on 1 January 2007. His first
term expired on 31 December 2011. He
was re-elected, unopposed, to a second
term on 21 June 2011.
The UN General Assembly
• The core institution of the UN
• Each country represented there by their
ambassador
• Discuss international issues to try to resolve
conflict by political means
• The UN’s main function is to prevent the
occurrence of major political international
conflict, and to an extent it has fulfilled this
function, as after WWII there has not been
an international conflict of this nature.
• Secondly it is meant to protect both nation
states and it’s people from tyranny,
colonialism and Imperialism
The United Nations and
the UN General Assembly
“we the people of the United Nations are
determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights , in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women and of
nations large and small.”
UK at the UN
• Who is the UK ambassador to the UN?
Sir Mark Lyall Grant
– since November 2009
Greece at the UN
• Ambassador Anastasis Mitsialis (from
2009)
The UN Security Council
They have a VETO
– a right to reject
resolutions. To be
Security
effective Council
ALL must
agree
to maintain
• Under UN Charter the
has
the main responsibility
international peace and security
How China
can the & Russia – 5
• USA, UK, France,
security
Permanent members
council beof 15 nation council
seen to be a
• 10 others rotate
on a 2 year cycle
form of
political
• The General Assembly
make
imperialism?
recommendations
but the security council can
direct nations to take action
1. It can apply sanctions
2. Send countries to The International Court
3. Send peace keeping troops
The Security
Council has primary
responsibility, under
the Charter, for the
maintenance of
international peace
and security.
Security Council which met for the
first time in 1946
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11712448
The functions and powers assigned to the Security Council under the
charter are the following:
• to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the
principles and purposes of the UN;
• to investigate any dispute or situation that might lead to international
friction and to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the
terms of settlement;
• to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or an act of
aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
• to call on members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not
involving the use of force in order to prevent or stop aggression;
• to take military action against an aggressor; and
• to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate
armaments.
The Security Council's five permanent members have the
power and influence:
China
France
Russia
United Kingdom
United States
10 non-permanent member countries. Each member - permanent or otherwise holds the presidency of the council for a one-month period, on a rotating
basis
•
•
A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security
Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council
considers that that country's interests are affected.
Both Members of the United Nations and non-members, if they are parties
to a dispute being considered by the Council, are invited to take part,
without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions
for participation by a non-member State.
• Veto- Each of the permanent members has
the right of veto, if one votes against a
resolution it can not be passed, but it can be
if a permanent member abstains from voting
• Regardless of the magnitude of the matter,
regardless of how the rest of the world will
be adversely affected, if one power opposes a
action they can attempt to stop it from
happening worldwide.
•
•
DRAFT RESOLUTIONS ARE DRAWN UP BY ONE OR MORE
MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND CIRCULATED PRIVATELY TO
THE OTHERS.
THE DRAFTS CAN BE NEGOTIATED OR CHANGED IN A PROCESS
CALLED "CONSULTATIONS". IF AGREED TO BY ALL MEMBERS,
THE RESOLUTION IS FORMALLY PROPOSED TO THE COUNCIL.
• When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought
before it, the Council's first action is usually to recommend to
the parties to try to reach agreement by peaceful means.
• In some cases, the Council itself undertakes investigation
• It may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement.
•
Thailand and Cambodia claim success at UN Security Council talks
Feb 15, 2011
•
Bangkok/Phnom Penh - Thailand and Cambodia both claimed victory
after a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting in New York to
discuss their conflict near an 11th-century Hindu temple on their
common border.
•
A statement by the council released after the meeting expressed 'grave
concern' at the clashes and called on both sides 'to display maximum
restraint.'
•
The council called for a permanent ceasefire and said both nations
should resolve the matter by talking. It gave its support for ongoing
efforts by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to broker
a solution.
Where has the UN been involved
Involved in several key flashpoints
globally;
The Arab-Israeli conflict
Genocide in Rwanda
Brings the case for people to be tried
at the ICC.
The UN at
work
2. NATO
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO)
• Military or defense alliance formed in 1949 by
12 countries in Western Europe and North
America
• Original purpose – to protect its members from
a possible attack from the Soviet Union
(Containment)
• First peacetime alliance in U.S. history
• An alliance of nations with shared values. All
members are DEMOCRACIES
• Has been the most important U.S. alliance for
the past (almost) 60 years
NATO Treaty – Article 5
• “The Parties agree that an armed attack
against one or more of them in Europe or
North America shall be considered an
attack against them all…”
• No NATO member was ever attacked
during the Cold War – it never had to use
its military forces
• The first (and only) time a NATO member
was attacked was…
– September 11, 2001
28 Member countries
1949
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States
1952
Greece, Turkey
1955
Germany
1982
Spain
1999
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland
2004
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia
2009
Albania, Croatia
The NATO Alliance
The Warsaw Pact
• 1955 - The Soviet response to the
creation of NATO
• Consisted of the Soviet Union and its
six satellite countries in Eastern
Europe
–
–
–
–
–
–
East Germany
Poland
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Bulgaria
Romania
• The Warsaw Pact no longer exists
Eastward Expansion
• As democracy spread throughout Eastern
Europe, NATO is adding new members
• 1999 – Three former Warsaw Pact members
were admitted into NATO
– Poland
– Hungary
– The Czech Republic
• 2002 – Seven former communist states in
Eastern Europe added
–
–
–
–
–
–
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Bulgaria
2002
• How
do you
think
Russia
feels
about
this?
NATO-Russia Council
• NATO-Russia Council
• This was a RAPPROACHMENT between
NATO and Russia
• May 2002 – Both sides signed an
agreement
• Russia WILL:
– Be given a say at the table with the 26 NATO
members
– Be an “equal partner” in discussions on key
topics
NATO-Russia Council
• Russia WILL NOT:
–
–
–
–
Be a member of NATO
Be bound by NATO’s defense pact
Have a veto over NATO’s decisions
Have a vote over NATO’s expansion
• NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the
freedom and security of its members through
political and military means.
• POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and
encourages consultation and cooperation on defence
and security issues to build trust and, in the long run,
prevent conflict.
• MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful
resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it
has the military capacity needed to undertake crisismanagement operations. These are carried out under
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s
founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in
cooperation with other countries and international
organizations.
3. The G8
The annual G8 leaders summit is attended
by eight of the world's most powerful
heads of government. The meeting is to
bring a range of complex and sometimes
inter-related issues to discussion.
Members
Function and decision making
•
The G8 come together annually to discuss issues of mutual or global
concern. Such issues include health, law enforcement, labour, economic
and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice
and interior, terrorism, and trade.
•
The summit decides on policies for a range of issues for all eight
countries.
•
E.g. in 2010 water sanitation was on the agenda. They pledged support
towards meeting Millennium Development Goals. They affirmed a
common desire to achieve aid-effectiveness for development in Africa.
•
They discussed the importance of meeting MDG 4 (reducing child
mortality) and MDG 5 (maternal health), but did not indicate water and
sanitation as integral to such efforts anywhere in the main Declaration.
Decisions on climate change and
other issues
•
•
One of the main most obvious issue for them to tackle at the moment is
climate change. At the most recent G8 summit in Canada the leaders of
the Group of Eight industrial nations agreed to a limit on global warming
of 2 degrees Celsius. The leaders did not, however, agree to a universal
emissions reduction target.
The July 2005 G8 Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, had been preceded
by the decision, a month earlier, by G8 Ministers to cancel debts owed
to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African
Development Bank by 18 poor, developing countries in Africa which had
already satisfied HIPC conditions. The June decisions and those at the
Gleneagles summit expanded them, this had been prompted by the
strong advocacy for more aid to Africa mounted by the British
government's Commission for Africa (CFA).
Impacts
•
•
Although the G8 is sometimes seen as being omnipotent or the world’s
directoire by anti-globalization protestors, it is also criticised for being
irrelevant or a moribund entity because it does not have real decisionmaking capacities. Nonetheless, the G8 can play an important role and
the Summit is simply symbolic.
4. The Davos Group or World
Economic Forum (WEF)
• Swiss based non-profit
making foundation
• ‘Entrepreneurship in the
global public interest’
• Focus business & profit
• Invitation only meeting
• Who goes?
Business CEOs
Academics
Political Leaders
IGO representatives
The media
The Davos Group
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss non-profit
foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual
meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the
eastern Alps region of Switzerland.
• The meeting brings together top business leaders, international
political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss
the most pressing issues facing the world, including health and
the environment.
• Beside meetings, the foundation produces a series of research
reports and engages its members in sector specific initiatives.
• And they go skiing !!
The Davos Group or WEF
• WEF is criticised by
anti- globalisation
campaigners
• They say capitalism =
inequality
• Bono called it ‘fat cats
in the snow’
• Has no official status
but attracts lots of
publicity and
Hollywood stars
5. The World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing
countries around the world. Our mission is to fight poverty with passion and
professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and
their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building
capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.
We are not a bank in the common sense; we are made up of two unique
development institutions owned by 187 member countries: the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International
Development Association (IDA).
Together, we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to
developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in
education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private
sector development, agriculture and environmental and natural resource
management.
The World Bank, established in 1944, is headquartered in Washington, D.C. We
have more than 10,000 employees in more than 100 offices worldwide.
World Bank: Fact File
Formed in 1944
Its role is to be a bank to finance development.
Its first loan was to France for post war reconstruction.
1950’s –financing the development of ex colonies.
1970-80’s – financing projects for areas which
were environmentally damaged.
1990’s – focus was on debt.
Now – aims to achieve the millennium development goals.
5. IMF
What is the IMF?
• The IMF (International Monetary Fund)
formed in 1944
• Stabilise currencies after WW2
• Created by 44 rich countries to help
those in debt
• Intended to prevent poverty & so limit
the spread of communism
• In 2009 has 185 members
How does the IMF work?
• Not all members are equal
Is it right that the
• The G20 have 70% of the votes
BRIC nations
• The USA has 17% of votes as the
have so little
biggest investor
voting power?
• EU nations have 25% while BRICS have
9.7%
• Most of the poorest African nations
have 1% between them
some
• IMF reflects US Why
& EUdo
interests
people think the
• Used £ to promote fight against
IMF
is
a
tool
of
communism
economic
• But imposed conditions that led to
Imperialism?
LEDCs to have to cut health & education
budgets so they could cut their debt
Function
to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of
international trade, and to contribute thereby to the
promotion
and maintenance of high levels of employment
and real income and to the development of the
productive
resources of all members as primary objectives of
economic policy.
• Initially constructed to loan countries money
who were at risk of communism.
• They assist states that are experiencing
major economic problems or require help in
their development programmes
• Determining how best to invest money is
heavily influenced by the principles of
capitalist theory. This is because capitalism is
responsible for the economic growth of rich
nations, therefore, IMF believe that
implementing similar policies in developing
countries will integrate them into the
international economic order
Involvement
• They negotiate loans directly with
member states
• Try to stabilise countries that are
faced with debt
• Set up SAP’s – neo-colonialism? – make
countries more competitive in global
markets therefore attracting
investment and economic growth. SAP’s
imposed eg.Ghana
Singapore
• Fall to Japan in 1942 = caused major
damage + USA feared communism
• USA encouraged rebuilding through
loans and investment
• Economic recovery rapid = became an
‘Asian Tiger’
• GDP – 1979 = 5.9 bn, 1989 = 27.5 bn,
1999 = 98 bn, 2007 = 153 bn
Japan
• Suffered severe damage in WWII
• Fears USSR would invade, so Allies
encouraged recovery
• Japanese gov. gained loans and grants
from IMF
• IMF investment led to rapid economic
growth
P 150-151 Oxford
Why might people protest against IGO meetings like the G8?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdaZwTLzCfY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQfqYy9Oci8 Government
response to anti-IGO protests
Plenary Question
• Are IGOs a force for good or a method
of Neo-colonialism?
• How does membership of international
governmental organisations give some
countries political and economic power?
International
decision
making
• Global decision making revolves
Russia
India
Brazil
Japan
WTO member
China
IMF (over 5% of
votes)
G20
•
EU
G8
•
USA
NATO
•
Membership of Intergovernmental
organisations
UN Security Council
•
around inter-governmental
organisation (IGOs)
Some IGOs involve all nations,
such as the U.N. – others are
more exclusive such as the G8,
or regional such as NATO.
Membership and voting rights
may give key players
disproportionate power.
Some influential organisations
such as the World Economic
Forum (Davos Group) are notfor-profit organisations outside
government control.
IGOs do change over time; the
G20 has become more influential
in recent years, reflecting the
increasing power of the BRICs