NAME: GABRIELLE WILLIAMS
COURSE: INTERNATIONAL and REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS
COURSE CODE: GOV’T 2048
LECTURER: EMANUEL QUASHIE
QUESTION#2: Using the theory of Realism, assess the United Nations relevance in
our contemporary society.
The legitimacy of the United Nations in the international arena currently
appears to be becoming contentious. Its usefulness is frequently contested, with
realists and liberals advocating for and against it, respectively. The United Nations
is an International organization, concerned with global issues and having a
primary objective of maintaining peace and security, cooperation and maintaining
friendly relations among the nations. When the League of Nations failed and
World War II ended, the United Nations Organization was formed(
Bhiwgade, 2020). Realism, set of related theories of international relations that
emphasizes the role of the state, national interest, and power in world politics (
Bell,2022). This essay sets out to highlight the relevance of the United Nations
according to the ideologies of realism in contemporary society.
In many ways, the UN became an extension of realism principles since
WWII was a fight for world order, and the Allies were entitled to design it
because they won. Because most of Europe had been invaded, much of the
postwar planning took place in the United States. With armed forces of the
Axis 42, because of the US government's and its ideology's significant
involvement.
Realism emphasizes the condition on politics imposed by human nature and
the non-existent of international government.The realists’ emphasis on anarchy, it
does not mean that they see the international system is falling into chaotic.To
illustrate the strong involvement of the UNSC in some crisis that related to realism,
Gulf crisis was the good one example to explain. We have to take a look on the
resolutions of UN, but there were very soon doubts whether this was a real revival of
UN that would be able to solve in the same manner future conflicts. Therefore, the
goals of the U.S-Administration in the Middle East changed but the conditions, the
allies and the possibilities to realize the interest of U.S were still in flow. After the end
of the cold war, Iraqi aggression towards Kuwait, were one of the most remarkable
points for revision of means and possibilities in order to create an interest for U.Sstrategy. For the U.S administration the unity of the UN, made perfect by China’s
decision not to oppose any step against Iraq, brought a big chance to counter the Iraqi
aggression under the umbrella of the UN. Here we can see that UN acted as tools for
U.S to invade the other country (Stephan, 2006). To conclude, Realism with its
emphasis on security completion and war among the great powers, as human being is
thinking about self-interests more than others. Those permanents members in United
Nations Security Council are also no exception.Accordingly, United Nations activities
are largely shaped by national interests, values and power despite the UN being
central to the maintenance of a viable international order and to the development of
shared values, norms and standards (Suzanne, 2013). To realist powerful states as
permanent members on UNSC rarely need International Organization as United
Nations to achieve specific objectives.
In many ways, the UN became an extension of realism principles
since WWII was a fight for world order, and the Allies were entitled to
design it because they won. Because most of Europe had been invaded,
much of the postwar planning took place in the United States.With armed
forces of the Axis 42,because of the US government's and its ideology's
significant involvement. The United States is largely regarded as the
midwife in the establishment of the United Nations.
The U.N. is working under its original purpose to solve international
economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems,but realism exhilarates the
analysis that powerful states will use there power or VETO to get them to survive or
to ‘pressure’ other nations, this can be seen in the case of where the United States
invaded Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction and to eliminate the country’s
dictator, Saddam Hussein. In the process, much of the country’s infrastructure was
destroyed. Power lines were knocked out and water lines were broken. Many of the
citizens of Iraq were left in sub-human conditions.
Furthermore, we can see the realist prospective in the UN where necessity for security
is premised on the realist belief that without a balance of power, war will occur because
state governments control nearly all of the military power in the world and states are
perpetually in competition to maximize their power relative to
each other. According to realist pioneer Morgenthau:
Alliances are a necessary function of the balance of power operating within a multiplestate system .... The aspiration for power on the part of several nations, each trying to
maintain or overthrow the status quo ( Stanton,2002).
However, unlike the realist point of view of the United Nations liberalism has
another outlook on the relevance of the UN today. Liberals argue that international
society consist of states that have, less or more, relations with one another. This
relations form an international order which require the international law to create rules.
By regulating the states, International law seeks to achieve the goal and value of
international society. From liberal perspectives to international law view that
international order is created from the bottom up. The processes that contribute to
creation of international law begin with norms, moral, rules, and other code of conduct
that voluntarily adopted by individual, community, and/or state who operate in an
international society and working up through transnational and intergovernmental law
to traditional public international law. The liberal approach ensure to avoid the state-
centric power by keeping the state disciplined fails to explain the modern international
system that economics is important. For instance, the Soviet leaders realized that pursuit
of power cannot totally enhance the state security and believed that to cooperate with
the west is the best way to achieve it (John, n.d.). Therefore, we can see that the Soviet
Union since 1987 has changed its attitude in the UN by deterring from using its veto
power for opposing the West to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, and end the IraqIran War (Karen & Margaret, n.d.). and provide the peaceful way to build the relations
with one another. . By not ignoring the emphasis on power of Realism, Liberalism
seems to be very optimistic as the morality, ideology, emotion, cooperation are
improved over Realism as the factors that shape the behavior and preference of states.
It also doesn’t dismiss the national interests that states processes, but the interest for
Liberalist is achieved by working together with other states through concerts and
multilateralism rather than competing. In addition, instead of zero-sum game principle,
Liberalism stressed more on win-win situation and this can further imply that liberalists
tent to go to war less than realists. Liberalists also found it more effective to tie together
politically and socially through trade, economics, and other exchange through
international law and cope with democratic peace. However, it doesn’t mean that
liberalist doesn’t at all use force; force is used for self-defense and especially in case
authorized by the UN as Woodrow Wilson send the American troops to Europe in
efforts to make the world safe and as in case George W. Bush invade Iraq in part to
foster democracy and peace (John, n.d.). These shows that UN has been a great place
for cooperation among states from the begin upon now in contemporary society.
Concluding, From a realist view, critics argue that any future of the UN must deal
with the fact that it is primarily run by one nation and that all nations use it when it is
to their political benefit. Thus, even though the actual balance of powers has shifted,
governments remain committed to national self-interest. The realist discourse
continues to dominate, with global justice applied equally to all nations remaining an
elusive, if not impossible, idea and reality. Despite setbacks and failings, it is
reasonable to state that the UN has remained a bastion for nations and has maintained
its promise of restoring peace and security.
REFERENCE LIST
Karen, A. W., & Margaret, P. K. (n.d.). The United Nations in the Post-Cold War Era
(2nd ed.). George, A. L., Dilemmas In World Politics. Colorado: Westview Press.
Jack, D. (2000). Realism and International Relations. England: The Press Syndicate
of the University of Cambridge.
John, T. (n.d.). International Politics on the World State (12th ed.). Boston: Mc Graw
Hill.
John, J. (n.d.). Realism, the Real World, And the Academy. Retrieved from the
website: http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0029.pdf
Sachi Bhiwgade(2020). Relevance and & Importance of the United Nations in the
Contemporary World. Retrieved from: Relevance & Importance of the United Nations
in the Contemporary World (ipleaders.in)
Stephan, S. (2006). Gulf War II (1990/91) -Iraq between United Nations’ Diplomacy
and United States’ Policy. Germany: GRIN Verlag.
Suzanne, X. Y. (2013). China in UN Security Council decision-making on Iraq.
Publisher: Routledge.
UKEssays. (November 2018). Analysis of the UN with Liberalism and Realism.
Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/international-relations/use-realismand-liberalism-to-explain-the-un-system.php?vref=1