The ambiguous attitude of the united nations towards democracy

1. The ambiguous attitude of the united nations towards democracy Jean-Marc Coicaud Professor of Law and Global Affairs Director of the Division of Global Affairs

2. Opportunities for Democracy and the Rule of Law emerged with the end of the Cold War • Among Nations • Within Nations

3. I. Democracy in the UN Context

4. I. Democracy in the UN ContextAgenda for Peace

5. I. Democracy in the UN ContextAgenda for Development

6. I. Democracy in the UN Context Agenda for Democracy

7. II. UN Ambiguity in the Agenda for Democracy

8. II. UN Ambiguity in the Agenda for Democracy Terms of the UN’s Ambiguity Towards Democracy • On the one hand: A strong commitment of the UN to some of the values and principles at the core of democracy. • Both within and among nations. This is eminently the case when it comes to the UN commitment to human rights.

9. II. UN Ambiguity in the Agenda for Democracy • On the other hand such UN commitment to democratic values and principles (human rights) has very strong limitations • This generic tension is an illustration of the overall ambiguity of the UN towards democracy

10. III. Modalities More specifically the tensions and limitations can be illustrated at three levels: • Institutional • Normative • Operational

11. IV. Institutional Standpoint • UN Charter • Membership • General Assembly vs. Security Council • The Exclusivity of the Security Council

12. IV. Institutional Standpoints • United Nations Charter: • We the People vs. Governments

13. IV. Institutional Standpoint • Membership: • Democracy Preferred but not Required

14. IV. Institutional Standpoint • General Assembly vs. Security Council: • Universality vs. Select Few • Symbolic vs. Executive Power

15. V. Normative Standpoint • On the one hand significant normative and legal developments in favor of key democratic values and principles in the fields of • Human Rights • International Treaties: Social, Economic, Cultural, Political Rights • Rule of Law

16. V. Normative Standpoint This Evolution is Illustrated and Enables the Move from Absolute Sovereignty to Conditional Sovereignty • Humanitarian Interventions • Human Security • Responsibility to protect

17. V. Normative Standpoint • On the Other Hand, International Distribution of Power Overrides the International Rule of Law • National Interest vs. International Interest • Self-Defense vs. Collective Security

18. V. Normative Standpoint In the End, at the International Level There are Moral Obligations but No Legal Obligations. Illustrative of this is: • Convention for the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide • International Treaties • Responsibility to Protect

19. VI. Operational Dimension • International Interventions in the 1990s • International Interventions in the 2000s

20. VI. Operational Dimension • Peacekeeping Operations in the 1990s • Desire to Defend Civilians and End Crises • At the same time very limited • Somalia • Bosnia • Kosovo • Worst case scenario, Rwanda

21. VI. Operational Dimension • International Interventions in the 2000s • Limited Commitment in Libya • No Commitment in Syria

22. VII. The Way Forward • Reforming the Institutions • Reforming the Global System • Reforming what it is to be Human

23. VII. The Way Forward Reforming Institutions • In the UN Context • Reforming the Security Council • Creating a UN People Assembly with true legislative power (see the work of Thomas Franck for example)

24. VII. The Way Forward Reforming the Global System • Possible Models: • Jürgen Habermas: World Domestic Policy • David Held: Global Democracy • Jean-Marc Coicaud: Moving from Global Norms to Global Policy

25. VII. The Way Forward Challenges and Crises • Crisis of Political Representation and Participation • National Level • International Level • Global Economic Crisis • Financialization of the Economy • Gap Between the Wealthy and the Poor • Growth Model?

26. VII. The Way Forward In Order to Overcome Challenges and Crises Requires: • Thinking about Economic and Political Models that Generate more Economic and Political Integration • Within Nations • Among Nations • Move from Global Western-Centric Models to Wide, Open, Inclusive, and Integrated Global Models

27. VII. The Way Forward Reforming How to be Human: The Self, The Other, and The World • 18th Century Social Reform Connected the Political with the Human • The solution is not purely institutional and political but also about who we are, who we can be, and who we ought to be

28. VII. The Way Forward • Democracy is about Promoting: • Individual Agency • Social Cooperation • National Level • International Level • Beyond Material Poverty and Spiritual Poverty

29. VII. The Way Forward • As They Say: “Winter Is Coming” • Ways to Prepare: Two Paradigms for the Future

30. VII. The Way Forward Ronald Reagan Paradigm “In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity.…I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.”

31. VII. The Way Forward Master Shifu Paradigm “Anything is Possible if you have Inner Peace”

32. Uniting the Two Paradigms In order to achieve peace and democracy we should have one eye on the stars to see whether or not Martians are coming, and one eye looking within.