Why has the UN Charter remained a central plank of international order, even though it was formulated in wartime by only a few of the victorious powers?
Essay - 6 pages - International relations
'If we had had this Charter a few years ago-and above all, the will to use it- millions now dead would be alive. If we should falter in the future in our will to use it, millions now living will surely die.' (Truman) This quotation shows the ambition the Charter has and the hope its...
Can Clausewitz's concepts of genius, friction and the centre of gravity be applied to the war on terror?
Essay - 4 pages - International relations
Ever since evolution, man-kind has been moving hand in hand with war. Just like people, war has evolved too and never stayed the same over a period of time. Wars, such as the ones fought by the Vikings or Barbarians, and the wars of the Roman Empire already revealed elaborate tactics (infamous...
Can states achieve cooperation in the international system? - published: 24/07/2006
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
“International cooperation is a subject of manifesting importance for anyone concerned about the prospects for world peace and order” because today cooperation is everywhere: in economics with the WTO, in politics with the UN and even in security issues with the NATO. International...
Is each age blessed or doomed with the presence of an empire?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
Veni, vidi, vici...[I came, I saw, I conquered): this quote from one of the most famous Roman generals Julius Caesar, reflects the principle of "empires? which has emerged as a major phenomenon in international relations. The phenomenon dates back as far as 2334 BC when it was born with the reign...
Is each age blessed or doomed with the presence of an empire? - publié le 24/07/2006
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
“Veni, vidi, vici...”[I came, I saw, I conquered] Julius Caesar. This quote from one of the most famous Roman generals reflects the principle of a major phenomenon in international relations: empires, a phenomenon which dates back as far as 2334 BC with the reign of Sargon of Akkad, and...
Is capitalism a positive or negative force in International Relations? - publié le 20/07/2006
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
In 1995, the 200 most powerful multi-national corporations of the world controlled approximately one third of its GNP The turnover of these companies sometimes exceeds the GNP of some countries. An example is General Motors, which, with a turnover of 132 billion dollars surpasses the GNP of...
Is capitalism a positive or negative force in International Relations?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
In 1995, the 200 most powerful multi-national corporations controlled approximately one third of the world GNP The turnover of these companies sometimes exceeds the GNP of some countries: one example is General Motors which with a turnover of 132 billion dollars surpasses the GNP of Indonesia....
Can we say that peace is a recent invention? (Michael Howard)
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
A broad definition of peace would be the absence of war. War, it has been proved, does relieve the masses from boredom and monotony. This is also evident in the fact that we enjoy watching war movies for the excitement and thrill they provide. But peace can be as fulfilling as war, if not more...
Describe the major differences in interests and perspectives of the member states of the European Union on Iraq and the US policy
Essay - 15 pages - International relations
The Iraq conflict uncovers difficulties for the member states of the European Union to find a common position in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. This essay describes the major differences in the interest and perspectives of the member governments on Iraq, and the US policy....
Are forgiveness and a search for the truth a better solution to heal the minds and bodies of the victims of wars than externally imposed tribunals?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
Even after a settlement is reached and a peace agreement is signed, this is by no means the end of the conflict. For a conflict to really end, healing the minds and the bodies of the victims of wars are necessary. Indeed it is the necessary first step to reconciliation to appear and people who...
Why has there been no reform of the UN?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
“Reform is the purposeful act of modifying the structure, composition, decision-making procedures, working methods, funding or staffing of an institution in order to enhance its efficiency and/or effectiveness in advancing its core goals and principles.” Considering this definition, and...
The UN reform and the definition of terrorism
Essay - 10 pages - International relations
This paper has three aims. The first is to introduce the semantic and political implications of defining terrorism within the United Nations: what would a definition of terrorism in such an international organization mean? Is it even acceptable? What would such an agreement imply? The second aim...
Operation "Althea" in Bosnia and Herzegovine: the European security and Defence policy (ESDP) coming of age?
Essay - 14 pages - International relations
Can the dramatic progresses in the late years be considered as a proof that ESDP has become a 'routine politic' with run in and tested mechanisms and procedures? In other words, does 'Althea' mean that ESDP is coming of age? The objectives of this operation reveals that its aims...
Are there 'just wars'?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
The notion of 'just war' can be considered as a moral philosophy of the War debating the legitimacy of wars and the way wars are made. The existence of just wars thus supposes that violence can be ethical. However, it has to be underlined that even for the just wars theoreticians, war is...
The balance of power
Essay - 6 pages - International relations
It was not until the beginning of the 17th century, when the science of international law took shape at the hands of Grotius and his successors, that the theory of the balance of power was formulated as a fundamental principle of diplomacy in the realist theory. According to Cobden, the first...
The European Union and organised crime
Worksheets - 8 pages - International relations
With the French and Dutch voters recent rejection of the proposed constitutional treaty for the European Union, a treaty with a number of proposals in the field of Justice and Home Affairs, has been postponed. However, both EU leaders and the general public continue to place high expectations on...
The European Union and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Worksheets - 9 pages - International relations
With the recent election of Mahmud Abbas as chairman of the Palestinian Authority and Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza strip, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians appears to be at a crossroads, after years of severe strain on the so-called...
Iran's nuclear programme
Worksheets - 9 pages - International relations
Diplomats, from 190 signatory countries, gather in New York this week for the five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran will surely be present. Although some warning signs had been issued by various intelligence services during the previous decade, concern over...
Iran's nuclear program
Essay - 9 pages - International relations
As diplomats from the 190 signatory countries gather in New York this week for the five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran will surely be present in many minds. Although some warning signs had been issued by various intelligence services during the previous decade,...
Venezuelian Foreign Policy
Essay - 25 pages - International relations
Articles on the subject of Venezuelan foreign policy are abundant, and easily available. Every political action, speech, or voyage of President Chavez is diligently covered by the media. It is because of the availability of such detailed information, that I decided to study a diversity of...
Landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Thesis - 5 pages - International relations
The conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina began shortly after the republic declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in March 1992 and lasted nearly four years. A cease-fire was called in September 1995. A general framework agreement (the “Dayton...
Landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina - published: 27/12/2005
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
The conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina began shortly after the republic declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in March 1992 and lasted nearly four years. A cease-fire was called in September 1995. A general framework agreement (the "Dayton Agreement")...
How and to what extent do domestic factors affect the nature of U.S. relations with other democratic states?
Essay - 3 pages - International relations
The manifestation of the American hegemony since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 has created a new pattern for international relations in which the United States is the ‘hyper power' everyone has to take into consideration before acting. France, once one...
The Cold War, an exception in the historical Russian-American relationship ?
Essay - 2 pages - International relations
Will the Cold War, in future be seen as an exception in the history of Russian-American relationship including the contemporary period (1992-2004) ? The Cold War lasted for nearly fifty years and has contributed to shape the whole world to the same extent that the two world wars have done, except...
Domestic Politics and American Foreign Policy: American & European political culture, an unsolvable misunderstanding?
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
The end of the cold war with the collapse of the Soviet Union enabled the emergence of the United States as a hegemonic power. At this time Realist Theories in International Relations predicted that a counterbalancing coalition should soon be organized. The European Union appeared as the most...
Is multilateralism still viable today ?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
After WWII, various multilateral organizations have been promoted by the US and implemented through many international organizations such as the UN, the GATT and the IMF. Overtime, multilateral co-operation dramatically developed in different forms (Summits, Conferences, etc...). However, critics...
Is multilateralism still viable today? - published: 22/08/2005
Thesis - 5 pages - International relations
After WWII, various multilateral organizations have been promoted by the US and implemented through many international organizations such as the UN, the GATT and the IMF. Overtime, multilateral co-operation dramatically developed in different forms (Summits, Conferences, etc...). However, critics...
A research proposal for the Masters Thesis; Environment and Trade in the Word Trade Organisation
Essay - 9 pages - International relations
The global environmental issues include climate change, ozone depletion, marine dumping, deforestation, and biodiversity. However the objective of my thesis is not to provide a detailed scientific treatment of the nature of the major environmental challenges facing the world, but rather to...
Why has CAP reform proved so difficult to agree and implement ?
Essay - 6 pages - International relations
The CAP was created in the hope of modernizing and controlling the market and sector of agriculture. It was in fact the first policy developed at the European level and it rapidly became a symbol for the European integration. Nevertheless, the desire of reforming was still alive...
Does Realism still provide a convincing analysis of international relationships ?
Essay - 3 pages - International relations
Realism arose as a theory after World War II because of the perceived failure of a world guided by Liberal Internationalist principles. The tension fraught era of the Cold War were ideal conditions for the stark, suspicious pragmaticism espoused by the likes of E.H. Carr and Hans J. Morgenthau....
