World order
World orderExamine the effectiveness of world order in relation to military conflict
To answer this question requires an examination of whether "World Order" is a means to an end, or a end itself. Thus, does "World Order" refer to the end result to be achieved as a consequence of our actions or is "World Order" the institutional/legal/political framework in which we achieve our aims. For the purpose of this essay, "world order" shall be defined as the institutional, legal and political framework in which global initiatives operate in an attempt to achieve fairer national and international solutions to world problems. In relation to the specific topic of military conflict, this order recognises the inherent weaknesses in human nature and power politics and concerns it self with trying to minimise the occurrences and detrimental effects of conflict, and with regulating conflict when it does occur, for the benefit of all concerned.
In order to determine the effectiveness of world order in dealing with these conflicts, one must first examine the different initiatives that have been established with this purpose and the role of international law. The players in international law are the states, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), regional and Inter-Governmental Organisations such as the EC and ASEAN, and the United Nations. Individuals have virtually no rights and duties at international law, however, they also have limited scope for complaints/petitions to agencies of the UN.
There have been many initiatives towards achieving global stability, beginning as early as last century. The first International Peace Conference was convened in The Hague on 18 May 1899 at the invitation of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to consider, in the words of the then Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Mouravieff, " a possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations" and to revise existing principles on naval and land warfare. The representations of 25 governments took part in the conference, held in the Huis ten Bosch and negotiations lasted for 10 weeks. On the 29 July 1899 the conference adopted, among others, the Convention for the Peaceful Adjustment of International Differences; the Convention Regarding Laws and Customs of War on Land, and several other declarations. These instruments provided broad principles that were refined and promoted in the Twentieth Century by the United Nations, the Committee on Disarmament and the International Committee of the Red Cross to improve the mechanisms for the settlement of disputes, create new rules on arms control and disarmament, and strengthen and update international humanitarian law following the adoption of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and subsequent instruments.
The formation of the ill-fated League of Nations in 1919 was yet another step towards a global solution to the world's problems. Formed in the aftermath of what was, at the time, believed to be "the war to end all wars", World War One, the League of Nations was established with the aim of preventing another such war...
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