Chapter 8 THE RIGHT TO WAGE WAR (JUS AD BELLUM)

Transcript:Chapter 8 THE RIGHT TO WAGE WAR (JUS AD BELLUM):
Chapter 8 THE RIGHT TO WAGE WAR (JUS AD BELLUM) Learning Objectives The UN Security Council holds the power of the UN. The UN and International Law constraints on waging war are important. They do not affect US law and thus we are only looking at them to get a sense of the structure of the UN and why it does not act as a legal constraint on US action. I am leaving the details of these to our public international law class. The War to End All Wars (World War I) and the Formation of the UN The League of Nations was formed after WW I to prevent future wars. It did not work for many reasons, including the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which obligated Germany to pay reparations for the damages caused by the war. The use of nuclear weapons by the US at the end of WWII strengthened the resolve of the major powers to form an international agency to reduce the chance of the next global conflict. The core purpose of the UN is to guarantee the sovereignty of the member nations against attack by other nations. The social programs are important but are divorced from this function. The power to protect sovereignty by force rests with the UN Security Counsel. The UN Security Counsel The United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom were the winners of WWII and were logical permanent members of the Security Counsel. The US pushed the inclusion of China (Taiwan) and the UK pushed for the inclusion of France, as a buffer against Germany and the Soviet Union. Any permanent member can veto action by the Counsel. This was the key political compromise that underlies the UN. This is why the UN Security Counsel will never act against the US. In 1971, the UN General Assembly forced the substation of the PRC for Taiwan’s seat on the Security Counsel. Had the PRC been on the security Counsel in 1950, the UN would not have authorized the defense of South Korea when it was invaded by the North in 1950. The permanent members are now the US, the UK/England, France, the PRC (China), and Russia. There are 10 elected member of the Security Counsel, but they do not have the veto and thus have little effect on Security Counsel policy. The Framework for UN Security Council Sanctions and