Delegates
I want to offer one quick clarification on the paper topics; you only need to write and submit one paper on the Peace Keeping Reform topic. Do not worry about writing a paper on the Open Agenda topic… we already have plenty of fun waiting for you on that, but the point is to challenge you on your general knowledge and understanding of international affairs.
- Richard
“Peace is our Profession”
Good Morning SC Delegates!
I came across a CNN article on the aftermath of the popular reaction in Serbia to Kosovo recently declaring itself independent (full text here). There is currently a NATO sponsored peacekeeping presence in the region (KFOR) sanctioned by the Security Council. Russia, which has always had strong ties to Serbian nationalism, refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent country. It released the following statement earlier this week:
“If the EU works out a single position or if NATO steps beyond its mandate in Kosovo, these organizations will be in conflict with the U.N., and then I think we will also begin operating under the assumption that in order to be respected, one needs to use force,”
Questions: Should the Security Council authorize the expansion of KFOR’s mandate to include preserving the territorial integrity of this new state? What should be done if conflict erupts with the peace keepers in the middle? What are the chances (feel free to personally guess here) that this conflict could expand into more general war? What actions could your nation take to prevent it (if any)?
Like last time, give me a few short sentences answering the questions above for extra credit.
- Richard Hill
“Peace is our Profession”
Good Morning Delegates!
In order to better help you prepare for the conference, I will be holding office hours on Mondays from 7 to 9 PM (PST) on the AIM screen name of BMUN SC OH. Feel free to ask me any questions or express any concerns you might have for the coming conference. Make sure to let me know when you IM me what delegation (country) you are from.
Remember, the paper deadline for committee (non-research) awards is the 1st of March! I will accept late papers, but you will get docked for being late.
- Richard Hill
“Peace is our Profession”
Hey Delegates,
Here are a couple of news articles I thought you may find intersting. Keeping in mind that there are a lot of news articles to be found about Pakistan, I encourage you to read beyond what we post in the blog (I recommend searching Google News).
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/world/asia/14briefs-bhutto.html?ref=world
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jIE0IUn4WIiaMBpjG8SI_6H5RXzgD8UQ93NG0
See you in March. Lets make it an awesome committee.
-Rahim
Delegates of the Security Council
To help us all get in a strategic mindset, I have two exerpts from an Army report from the School of Advanced Military Studies in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, about preparing the military for military operations other than war (MOOTW), one of which is peace intervention (of all flavors).
“Worldwide demographic, environmental, and societal stress, in which criminal anarchy emerges as the real “strategic” danger. Disease, overpopulation, unprovoked crime, scarcity of resources, refugee migrations, the increasing erosion of nation-states and international borders, and the empowerment of private armies, security firms, and international drug cartels are [the issues]… that will soon confront our civilization…[as we witness] the withering away of central governments, the rise of tribal regional domains, the unchecked spread of disease and the growing pervasiveness of war.” - Robert D. Kaplan, The Coming Anarchy
Questions:
Can peace intervention rise to the challenge of anarchy that Kaplan outlines here? How can it adapt? Outside of establishing rule of law (military action) in a state, what else should those that intervene hope to accomplish?
The second quote comes from the paper itself. Major Camarena wrote:
“By 1997, it became apparent that there existed a (gap) between the ability of military forces to
implement their assigned tasks of the General Framework Agreement for Peace and that of their civilian counterparts to meet their requirements. Consequently, American military forces expanded their mission to ‘assist international organizations to set the conditions for civilian implementation of the (peace accords) in order to transition the area of operations to a stable environment.’”
Question: How does this approach augment the capacities of military force/intervention? Is this practical in a more hostile environment (like Somalia or Iraq)? What do the NGOs and the civilian governmental organizations need from the military? What does the military need from them to accomplish nation building?
I’ll be giving extra credit for well thought out answers… so post away!
- Richard
“Peace is our Profession”