IRB00103

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
HANDOUT 5

Collective Security
Introduction
 Even though the modern idea of collective security
was born in 1914, the elements of collective
security can be traced all the way to the leagues of
ancient Greek states, and likewise in the experiment
of the Holy League in Renaissance Italy (1495)

 Although it can be traced to the Classical times

when Athens allied with Megara in the struggle
with Corinth during the fifth century BC.
Introduction
 The idea of collective Security (CS) emerged in
1914, it become a center of discussion during
World War I, and took shape rather imperfectly in
the 1919 covenant of the League of Nations and
again in the Charter of the UN after World War II

 Theterm CS has been subsequently used and

applied to less idealistic and narrower
arrangements for joint defense such as the North
Atlantic treaty Organization (NATO).
 Introduction
 Theterm CS was broadly known in the 1930s to
accurately means "security for individual nations
by collective means,“

 Thatis, by membership in an international

organization made up of all or most of the states of
the world pledged to defend each other from attack
Historical background
 In the nineteenth century, the classic era of
nationalism, Europe found little room for collective
security. The nineteenth-century "peace movement"
looked mainly in other directions.

 Quite vigorous in the decades preceding the out-break

of war in 1914, the world peace movement draw its
emphasis on arbitration, disarmament, and the growth
of international law by voluntary agreement
Historical background
At the start of the twentieth century
two power blocs emerged through
alliances between the European Great
Power. It was these alliances that came
into effect at the beginning of the
WWI in 1914, drawing all the major
European powers into the war.
Historical background
This was the first major war in
Europe between industrial nations
and the first time in Western
Europe as a results of
industrialization (for example
mass production) had been
dedicated to war
Historical background
The result of this industrial warfare
was an unprecedented casualty level
with eight and a half million members
of armed services dead, an estimated
21 million wounded, and
approximately 10 million civilian
deaths
Historical background
By the time the war ended in
November 1918, it had had a
profound impact, affecting the social,
political and economic systems of
Europe and inflicting psychological
and physical damage on the continent
Historical background
Anti-war sentiment rose across the world; the First
World War was described as “the war to end all
wars", and its possible causes were vigorously
investigated.

The causes identified included arms races, alliances,

secret diplomacy, and the freedom of sovereign
states to enter into war for their own benefit.
Historical background
The perceived solutions to these were seen
as the creation of an international
organization whose aim was to prevent
future war through disagreement, open
diplomacy, international co-operation,
restrictions on the right to wage wars, and
penalties that made war unattractive to
nations
 Definition
Collective Security can be understood as a
security arrangement, political, regional, or
global, in which each state in the system
accepts that the security of one is the
concern of all, and therefore commits to a
collective response to threats to, and
breaches to peace.
Definition
CS: a plan for maintaining
peace through an organization
of sovereign states, whose
members pledge themselves to
defend each other against attack.
 Definition
A system of maintaining world peace and 
security by concerted action
the part of the nations of the world

Collective security recognizes the relevance of

power in international politics. It accepts the fact
of war as a reality.
The Nature of Collective Security
 Collective security is a device of a management of
power, not that of the elimination of power.

 Collectivesecurity is something less than world

government and more than balance of power or it
can be considered to be an alternative of the world
government, because latter is not feasible
The Nature of Collective Security
 A proper functioning of collective security system
possible only through international organization

 Itis different from balance of power and collective

defense
Basic Assumptions of Collective
Security
 Thecollective security can only operate if the following
assumptions are realized:

 Able to muster at all times or adequate to meet any situation

 The universal agreement of nations

 Peace should be given priority and must be willing to subordinate

political difference

 The combined strength to meet the threat of aggression

Basic Assumptions of Collective
Security
 Allnations should be equally interested in stopping
aggression and protecting the interest of affected nations

 Itis not directed against any particular state but against

aggression in general

 A basic condition for the success of collective security

system is procedure for peaceful change and widest
acceptance of the pacific means of settlement of
international dispute
Collective Security: A Mechanism of
War Prevention
 Morgenthau (1948) states that three prerequisites
must be met for collective security to successfully
prevent war:

 The collective security system must be able to

assemble military force in excess to that assembled
by the aggressor(s) thereby deterring the
aggressor(s) from attempting to change the world
order defended by the collective security system.
Collective Security: A Mechanism of
War Prevention
 Those nations, whose combined strength would be
used for deterrence should have identical beliefs
about the security of the world order that the
collective is defending.

 Nations must be willing to subordinate their

conflicting interests to the common good defined
in terms of the common defense of all member-
states
The Concept of Collective Security
 At the core of the collective security concept is the
notion that if you, or your state, has an enemy your
security is greater if you have an ally or allies who
will support you against your enemy

 Even the promise of support maybe sufficient to

discourage aggressive acts by your enemy.
 My enemy’s enemy is my friend is a variation of
this idea
Religion Concept of Collective
Security
 According to the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam;

 They believed that collective security was

prescribed by the teachings of the Quran.
 The fifth Caliph of the movement, Mirza Masroor
Ahmad explained the Quran 49: 9 as follow:
 “And if two factions among the believers should
fight, then make settlement between the two. But
if one of them oppresses the other, then fight
against the one that oppresses until it returns to the
ordinance of Allah . And if it returns, then make
settlement between them in justice and act justly.
Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly”.
Religion Concept of Collective
Security
 The Quran teaches that when two nations are in
dispute and this leads to war, then other
governments should strongly counsel them
towards dialogue and diplomacy so that they can
come to an agreement and reconciliation on a basis
of a negotiated settlement
Religion Concept of Collective
Security
If, however, one of the parties does not accept the
terms of agreement and wages war, then other
countries should unite together and stop that
aggressor.

When the aggressive nation is defeated and agrees to

mutual negotiation, then all parties should work
towards an agreement that leads to long-standing
peace and reconciliation.
Religion concept of Collective
Security
Buha’u’llah (1817–1892), the founder of the Baha’I’
Faith, prescribed collective security as a means to
establish world peace in his writings during the 19th
century:

The time must come when the imperative necessity

for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing
assemblage of men will be universally realized.
Religion Concept of Collective
Security
 The rulers and kings of the earth must attend it, and,
participating in its deliberations, must consider such
ways and means as will lay the foundations of the
world's Great Peace amongst men.

 Such a peace demand that the Great Powers should

resolve, for the sake of the tranquility of the peoples
of the earth, to be fully reconciled among themselves.
Religion Concept of Collective
Security
 Should any king take up arms against another, all
should unitedly arise and prevent him.

 If this be done, the nations of the world will no

longer require any armaments, except for the purpose
of preserving the security of their realms and of
maintaining internal order within their territories.
 This will ensure the peace and composure of every
people, government and nation
CS During the League of Nations
A wider international
involvement, was the
experience of the First World
War, the first fully ‘industrial’
war and a war on a huge scale
 CS During the League of Nations
The British Foreign Secretary, is attributed
with initiating the idea and a committee in
the Foreign Office worked on plans from
1916.
American President Woodrow Wilson, who
was influential at the post-war peace
conference, supported the plan with
enthusiasm
 CS During the League of Nations

Each of the five peace treaties signed at

Versailles, 1919-21 had at their start the
Covenant of the League which began ‘The High
Contracting Parties.
In order to promote international co-operation
and to achieve international peace and security
… Agree to this Covenant of the League of
Nations
 CS During the League of Nations
 Although the League settled minor disputes, such as the
Aaland Islands in 1920 and Upper Silesia in 1921, most
disputes were settled by other means and when more major
issues arose,

 Notably Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and Italy’s

invasion of Abyssinia in 1935, the League imposed limited
sanctions in the latter instance, the League was ineffective in
the protection of states from aggression
 CS During the League of Nations
 Germany had been a member of the League only from 1926 to 1933
and Hitler’s repeated flouting of the Treaty of Versailles and the
League will be known to many readers.

 The failure of the League resulted from weaknesses in procedure,

such as the requirement for unanimous votes, the absence of some of
the strongest states (the USA was never a member, the USSR only
from 1934-9)
 CS During the United Nations
Due to the absence of permanent
meetings and the lack of any military
force.
Plans for another means to collective
security were developed, the League’s
weaknesses were a guide to what should
be avoided
CS During the United Nations
 Plans for a new international institution with
different aims were discussed in Moscow in 1943
and by Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill in Teheran
(1943), and Yalta (1945).

 The form of what became the United Nations

Organization was agreed at Dumbarton Oaks
(Washington DC) in 1944 and the UN Charter
finalized in San Francisco in 1945
CS During the United Nations
With a Security Council in constant
session at which the major powers had
permanent places and whose decisions
are binding on all members and the
right to provide UN forces (not used
until the Korean War, 1950-4)
CS During the United Nations
The UN had the potential to be a more
effective means to collective security than the
League.
While the UN has been more involved with
attempts to resolve international disputes than
the League, such as Kashmir 1949, Suez
1956, the Congo 1960 and Cyprus 1964, in
each of which UN forces were active
CS During the United Nations
 Itsprovision of security has been weakened by
divergent interests among the major powers, most
markedly during the Cold War.

 Some argue that the mutually facing NATO

(founded 1949) and the Warsaw Pact (founded
1955), and the balance of nuclear threat it
provided, did more to preserve peace than the
operation of the UN
CS and weaknesses of the United
Nations
 Even though UN Charter containing stronger
provisions for decision-making and collective
military action than those of the League of Nations
Covenant,
 It does not represent a complete system of collective
security, instead a balance between collective action
on the one hand and continued operation of the states
system (including the continued special roles of great
powers) on the other.
CS and weaknesses of the United
Nations
 Cited examples of the limitations of collective
security include the Falklands War. When
Argentina invaded the islands, the overseas
territories of the UK, many UN members stayed
out of the issue, as it did not directly concern
them.
CS and weaknesses of the United
Nations
 There was also a controversy about the US role in
that conflict, due to their obligations as an Inter
American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (in
accordance with the "Rio Pact") member.
 However, many politicians who view the system
as having faults also believe it remains a useful
tool for keeping international peace.
 1- Cold War Era: 1945-1960

 The Cold War tensions between US-led West and the USSR-led
East, made the most important intended change from the League of
Nations impossible.

 The idea that the SC should be directed by the great powers failed
because of the mistrust between the super powers.

 In a world divided between two rival ideological blocs, power

vacuums, economic and psychological warfare, a major arms race,
and peripheral power contests, the UN was dominated by the US, its
Western Allies, and Latin American followers.
Cold War Era: 1945-1960
 During this early Cold War period, the US mainly
used the UN to contain the USSR

 In this environment, it was impossible to create the

proposed UN machinery for the maintenance of
international peace and security. Since East and
West did not trust each other to carry out military
action on behalf of the UN, the SC activities
became strictly limited
Cold War Era: 1945-1960
 TheKorean War was the most important example,
which showed that the UN became an arena of
ideological struggle between the two blocs.

 Duringthe Korean War, the UN moved from being

simply a forum for diplomatic pressure and
propaganda to play a forceful role in a way not
envisaged by the Charter
 Cold War Era: 1945-1960
 The1956 Suez Canal Crisis was another deviation from the
Charter, different from the Korean War. Since British and
French vetoes deadlocked SC action, the GA again used the
"Uniting for Peace" procedure to discuss the Crisis.

 Themajority of the General Assembly supported the idea that

the British and French troops should be replaced by a UN
force. Thus, United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in
Suez became the fırst case of such military intervention of the
Organization, deployed with the consent of Egypt and Israel
 2- Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 Two characteristics stood out in these decades, In 1960s, the
UN provided assistance to decolonization in Africa and Asia
and the decolonization transformed the UN into a Third World
dominated organization, in which the US dominance declined
when it lost two-thirds majority in the GA

 This has changed the former balance between the GA and the
SC. In consequence, the UN agenda widened and economical
and developmental issues, directly related with the Third
World, proliferated. This helped the two superpowers to defuse
their distrust and continue to exist peacefully in a d
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 Two characteristics stood out in these decades. In 1960s, the
UN provided assistance to decolonization in Africa and Asia
and the decolonization transformed the UN into a Third World
dominated organization, in which the US dominance declined
when it lost two-thirds majority in the GA.

 This has changed the former balance between the GA and the
SC. In consequence, the UN agenda widened and economical
and developmental issues, directly related with the Third
World, proliferated. This helped the two superpowers to defuse
their distrust and continue to exist peacefully in a decade
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 The new third world members of the UN were not entitled
to permanent membership in the SC.

 Therefore, they focused on GA for helping to define the

UN's commitment to social progress and higher standards
of living. Hence, there were many yearly conferences on
development and related issues.

 Besides, the USSR, leader of the Eastern Bloc was taking

the side of the Third World
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 It was also during this period that, largely as a consequence of
decolonization, the previously tight bipolar world loosened via a
non-aligned movement headed by China, Egypt, India,
Indonesia, and Yugoslavia and others.

 They tried to force the UN to join their efforts against the

domination of the US, the USSR or sometimes both of them.

 As the non-aligned movement grew, most of the newly

independent states did not see the Cold War as their main
problem
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 They had their main own agenda, which concentrated on
mainly development issues, anti-colonialism and racial
discrimination.

 They also wanted to change the UN into a more democratic

organization.

 So, in this period ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council)

became more representative and pronovaced within the UN
structure.
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 Her members grew from 18 to 27 in 1965 and then to 54 in 1973.
The Security Council also expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965

 However, efforts of the non-aligned movement were not strong

enough to prevent the Vietnam War, which took place toward the
end of this era. Over Vietnam, the UN was quite helpless.

 It could not solve the conflict. Since the Soviets supported the
Communist Vietnamese, and Americans were fıghting with them,
the SC could do nothing.
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 TheGA could not do anything adequate as well.
China and North Vietnam, who were not the UN
members at that time, ignored any
recommendation it made.

 The failure of UN in the Vietnam War was another

event that led to loose of faith in the UN and its
future in the eyes of many people
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 While the UN could do nothing when the superpowers were involved,
otherwise its peacekeeping activities continued to make a valuable
contribution to peace with the support not just of the major powers but
also of the third world states.

 For example, the UN force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was sent in 1964 to

try to prevent fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and to
maintain order.

 During its ten years of presence, UNFICYP provided humanitarian

assistance, act as a buffer between the communities and tried to keep
relations calm and diffuse the inter-communal tension
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 At the second stage, international society transformed
with the emergence of third world countries.
 The main impact of the Third World was in shifting the
UN's priorities and altering the international agenda by
revolting colonialism, racial discrimination, and the
North-South gap.

 While the GA started to be more active the SC could stili

not play the. leading role in most of the international
disputes because of the Cold War
 Cold War: 1960s-1970s
 This stage was characterized with the end of US dominance in the
UN because of the changes in membership.

 The US and its allies lost the two-thirds majority, necessary for
the passage of important resolutions. Before the decolonialization,
the US had commanded two-thirds majority in the GA easily.

 However, during the period under consideration, she had to make

compromises to third world countries for building coalitions
against the USSR. Therefore, it was in this period that the US
started to reduce its contribution to the UN budget.
 3- Cold War in 1980s
 the slump of previous decades was turning into crisis. There was a total
frustration of hopes and disillusionment among developing and
developed countries as to the UN's role in world politics. The UN was
unable to play the central role in many conflicts in this period

 - For instance, the revolutionary Iranian government, came to power in

1979, ignored appeals from the SC to release the American diplomatic
hostages.

 - Fighting between China and Vietnam was still continuing.

 - The USSR invasion of Afghanistan In December 1979.

 Cold War in 1980s
- Iran-Iraq war began in September 1980, and the
SC idly watched two 'troublesome' states
slaughtering each other.

 Moreover, during the 1980s, the UN's long-

standing fınancial diffıculties became acute, which
was exacerbated by the reduction of the US's
contribution to its budget.
 Cold War in 1980s
 Despite all these negative developments, there was one positive thing, which
refreshed hopes for the UN once again.

 It was the outcome of peaceful existence of detente between the two

superpowers. Starting from the mid-1970s, relations between the US and the
USSR became friendlier.

 However, cordial relations between them were again suspended when the
USSR invaded Afghanistan.

 Thus, nearly all the old obstacles that prevented the UN's actions remained.
During the period there were many international conflicts in the form of civil
wars, guerrilla wars, armed rebellions that the UN could not intervene.
 Cold War in 1980s
 Thus the UN was quite helpless in Northern
Ireland, against the Kurdish groups and the
mujahadeen in Iran, Peshmerga Kurds in Iraq, the
civil war in Chad, Sudan, Colombia, Salvador, and
Nicaragua etc.
 Cold War in 1980s
 The UN was disabled to play any role in these internal
conflicts because of the unwillingness of the disputants.

 At the same time, the Organization did not call into

question the prohibition contained in Article 2(7), which is
the principle of nonintervention into domestic affairs.

 This demonstrated the UN's impotence to adapt changing

circumstances and dealt with new kind of conflicts it faces.
 Cold War in 1980s
 The most striking feature of the UN efforts to deal with threats to
international peace and security in the late 1980s was newly emerging
co-operation among the five permanent members of the SC.

 One indication of this was that the decisions were started to be taken in
unofficial and informal way through the consultations of SC's permanent
members. Another indication was voting patterns in the Council.

 Between 1980 and 1985, permanent members voted together in 75 out of

119 resolutions, and between 1986 to 1990, they voted together on 93
out of 103 resolutions.
 Thus, revival of the SC was under way
 Cold War in 1980s
 However, the most signifıcant sign of the co-operation was the SC
resolution of 1987 for ending Iran-Iraq war.

 Then, in 1988 the USSR under the leadership of Gorbachev decided

to solve the Afghan conflict, which had refreshed the Cold War in
1979.

 Most important factor contributing to these developments was the

changes in the Soviet foreign policy. Under the leadership of Mikhael
Gorbachev, the USSR improved relations with the USA and China
and turned to the UN for searching a new role in the world politics
 Cold War in 1980s
 Theend of the Cold War also made possible the removal
of one of the longest troubles the UN had faced. Two
agreements were signed to end fighting in south-western
Africa.

 Thefirst agreement was signed by Cuba, Angola and

South Africa, It contained a plan for achieving the
independence of Namibia, the ex-German colony of
south-west Africa that was seized by the South Africans
during the First World War.
 Cold War in 1980s
 This plan provided a UN force for guaranteeing
necessary conditions for free and fair elections. The
second agreement provided withdrawal of Cuban troops
from Angola.

 By linking Namibian independence with the withdrawal

of Soviet sponsored Cuban troops in Angola, a
December 1988 agreement to send peacekeepers to both
territories removed another source of Cold War tension
 Cold War in 1980s
 The UN made a great contribution for the success of these agreements. It
played an important role by supplying the framework within which main part
of the settlement had been negotiated ten years before the agreements was
signed.

 Permanent members of the SC, the US and the USSR accepted to be

guarantors for the implementation of the agreements. In short, as in the
Afghanistan negotiations, so in the Angola/Namibia, talks, the impression was
strongly conveyed that any party seeking to undermine a settlement would
incur the dis-favour of both superpowers.

 This increased the confidence of each side that the other side would keep their
promises and enhanced the UN contribution to the resolution of conflicts
 Cold War in 1980s
 In conclusion, the UN, like the League of Nations, has largely
failed to perform its role for the maintenance of the international
peace and security during the Cold War.

 It remained out of the most important problems and events,

despite the efforts of the Secretary-Generals, diplomats of the
SC and the GA.

 The SC deadlocked and could not perform its function because

of the Super Powers' veto to stop the resolutions against their
national interests.
 Decline of Collective Security in the
post Cold War
 After the fading away of the Cold War, and the
disintegration of the Soviet Union, there was a
brief movement of hope and great expectations for
the UN.

 Itwas believed that, the Organization could now

start perform its original role as it was designed in
the Charter
Decline of Collective Security in the
post Cold War
 At that time, collective response to the Iraq's
aggression against Kuwait strengthened the hopes
for the future role of the UN in maintaining
international peace and security.

 But, the Gulf War became the last case of the

traditional kind of interstate conflicts in the post-
Cold War era. On the contrary, many intra-state
disputes, kept frozen during the Cold War, exploded.
 Decline of Collective Security in the
post Cold War
 However, with the end of the Gulf War, the UN's new kind of
operations in the name of humanitarian intervention started.

 Consequently, there was a dramatic demand for the UN

peacekeeping operations to respond to all kinds of conflicts
taking place in different parts of the world.

 In response, the UN had to under go a remarkable

renaissance in its efforts to deal with world's problems since
the end of the Cold War.
 Future of CS
 The role of the UN and collective security in general is
evolving, given the rise of internal state conflicts.
Since the end of WWII, there have been 111 military
conflicts worldwide, but only 9 of these have involved
two or more states going to war with one another.

 The remainder have either been internal civil wars or

civil wars where other nations intervened in some
manner.
 Future of CS
 This means that collective security may have to
evolve towards providing a means to ensure
stability and a fair international resolution to those
internal conflicts.

 Whether this will involve more powerful

peacekeeping forces, or a larger role for the UN
diplomatically, will likely be judged on a case-by-
case basis.
 Future of CS
 The termination of the USSR as a meaningful
superpower, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the
UN role to achieve security as world-wide terror,
with its ideological connections with the Middle
East, develops, signal new areas where the
effectiveness of the UN as a means to collective
security is untested.
 Conclusion
 The reform of UNSC will make the CS seems
better, hence the international community security
destiny falls with the pivotal of the P5

 The security Council operates within a

considerable margin of appreciation under Chapter
VII, however it must nonetheless remain within
the limit s of human Rights Laws
 Conclusion
 Because the SC interpret Charter for its own
purpose,

 Itis yet to be seen if the UN will select the

interpretation that appropriate for the
circumstances with no partial or partial interest.