Law of war crimes: command responsibility and the Yamashita precedent
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
In an interesting article from the Legal Times untitled ‘From the top on down'1, two American military judges, namely J.D. Hutson and J. Cullen, lay emphasis on the need to hold Secretary of Defence D. Rumsfeld accountable for abuses on his watch mostly directed at Afghans and Iraqis....
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) comprises of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC came into existence in December 1985. SAARC is a classic international organization, as long as it works on the basis of...
The case of the Czech republic and the Slovak republic - publié le 20/09/2006
Essay - 11 pages - International relations
The Czech and the Slovak nations share a similar history for over a century. The attempt to coexist as just one common state definitely failed in the autumn of1992. This failure occurred when the Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus and the leader of the main Slovak party HZDS, Vladimír Meèiar,...
The case of the Czech republic and the Slovak republic
Essay - 11 pages - International relations
The Czech and the Slovak nations had a similar history for more than a century, and the attempt to coexist in just one common state definitely failed in autumn 1992, when the Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus and the leader of the main Slovak party HZDS, Vladimír Meèiar, came to the conclusion...
Immigrants in America : description, reasons, impacts
Essay - 24 pages - International relations
America was a kaleidoscope of ethnic and cultural groups. The history of the US immigration spans a long period of migration of many different peoples from various parts of the world. One common belief is that America was originally peopled by wanderers from the Northeast Asia about 20,000 years...
Is NATO still relevant ?
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
General De Gaulle once said that all alliances are like roses: they wither and decay. NATO might be a counter-example or it might not. While during the Munich Conference, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, claimed “As an alliance we have never been stronger. We have never...
Is NATO still relevant ? - publié le 29/08/2006
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
All alliances are like roses: they wither and decay, said General de Gaulle, the former French President. The NATO or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization looks like a counter-example to this statement. During the Munich Conference, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, claimed,...
Can we have a world government?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
To answer the question "Can we have a world government", we must first answer two other questions. The first one is "What would be the use and necessity of a world government"; the second is "To what extent could thus be possible? "A government is a system, form or organization by which a...
Can we have a world government? - publié le 25/07/2006
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
To answer the question “Can we have world government”, we must understand two questions: one is “What would be the use and necessity of a world government”; the other one is “In what extent would it be possible?” “A government is a system, form or organization...
What is the role of the state in international Politics?
Essay - 4 pages - International relations
International Politics is based upon two main theories, Realism and Liberalism. These theories are conventionally opposed, and therefore give two different interpretations of world politics. This essay will focus on the stances of these theories upon the role of the state. However, before...
What is the role of the state in international Politics? - publié le 24/07/2006
Essay - 4 pages - International relations
International Politics are based upon two main theories, Realism and Liberalism, which are conventionally opposed, and therefore give two different interpretations of world politics. This essay will focus on the stances of these theories upon the role of the state. But before assessing their...
Is there a 'responsibility to protect'? Is the UN capable of protecting the victims of internal conflicts?
Essay - 6 pages - International relations
Since the end of the Cold War, Civil wars are the dominant form of conflicts all around the world. As Stephen John Stedman explains, 'all thirty-five of the wars in 1997 were primarily internal'. Thus, in the current scenario, massive violence, destruction and killing tend, to happen...
Is there a 'responsibility to protect'? Is the UN capable of protecting the victims of internal conflicts? - publié le 24/07/2006
Essay - 6 pages - International relations
Civil wars are, today, since the end of the Cold War, the dominant form of conflicts all around the world. For instance, as Stephen John Stedman explains, 'all thirty-five of the wars in 1997 were primarily internal' . Massive violence, destruction and killing tend, so, nowadays, to...
Is the United Nations running the same risk as its predecessor the League of Nations of being made marginal or even irrelevant? Why or why not? - publié le 24/07/2006
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
'The League is dead, long live the United Nations!' This is with these words that Lord Robert Cecil, one of the architects of the League of Nations, commented on the dissolution of the organization, in the spring 1946, expressing the apparent readiness to write the League off as a failure...
Is the United Nations running the same risk as its predecessor the League of Nations of being made marginal or even irrelevant? Why or why not?
Essay - 5 pages - International relations
'The League is dead, long live the United Nations!' This is with these words that Lord Robert Cecil, one of the architects of the League of Nations, commented on the dissolution of the organization, in the spring 1946, expressing the apparent readiness to write the League off as a failure...
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? - publié le 24/07/2006
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 statement delivered by Truman reveals the ambitions of the Charter...
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...
