Assess the impact of third party intervention in two conflicts since the end of Cold War - Essay Example

Assessment of the Impact of Third Party Intervention in Two Conflicts since the End of Cold War Table of Contents Introduction 3 Overview 4 Third Part Interventions 5 Third-Party Intervention in Intrastate Conflicts 5 Third Party intervention in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction ‘Cold War’ is the outcome of the relationship that developed between the USA and the USSR (the present Russian Federation) after the Second World War .The Cold War grabbed the headlines of international affairs from the period of 1945 to 1991. During this period of time due to Cold War situation some major political crises erupted like the Berlin Wall crisis in Germany, Cuban Missile Crisis, Hungry situation and also the Vietnam condition. During this period, the increase in possession of weapon of mass destruction was held as a major and a concerning issue. Due to the Cold War, competition between the two parties i.e. the USA and the USSR (Soviet Union), took many twists and turns in the global context like that of political, ideological, social, economical and cultural among others. During this period of time USSR was unified and it included presently independent countries like Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, etc. Overview The USA and the USSR fought as friend and allies during the Second World War but their after the relationship was far from friendly. They created an illusion about their friendliness during the Second World War only to ruin their common enemy, the Nazi Germany. America depicted the communist Soviet Union as the devil force and Soviets did likewise with the capitalist USA. They had considered friendship during the wars as they had a common enemy Nazi Germany. There was severe distrust among the two allies. This continued after the World Wars also. USA had with them a powerful mass destructive weapon, atom bomb whereas the USSR held a vast field army. Therefore, it meant a conflict between two almost equal powerful bodies. They both had passion for power and growth. It also led to the conflict. But the most important aspect of the Cold War was that during the period, the two conflicting parties never fought with each other. Instead, they had their influence intact through proxy or client states that fought with similar kind of beliefs. As it can be seen in case of South Vietnam, they were anticommunist. The Americans supported them during the war while North Vietnam who were pro-Communist, fought against the South along with the Americans using weapons from communist China or USSR. The Americans provided weapons to the rebel Afghans in Afghanistan after the invasion by Soviet Union in 1979. The Americans avoided a direct clash with the Soviet Union but used proxy sources for their continued altercation during this Cold War period (History Learning, n.d.). Presence of nuclear weapons was the most important aspect of Cold War. Soviets were up with the possibility of a nuclear warfare but the Americans, who followed a rigid policy, were deterrent. The still try to use the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty as a strategy for countries preventing them from using nuclear weapons (Smithsonian Institution, 2000). Third Part Interventions The Third Party Intervention has been a part of political scenario from a long time. After the end of the Cold War there have been quite a few instances of third party intervention In the below section, two such instances of Third Party Interventions after the end of Cold War have been focused upon. Third-Party Intervention in Intrastate Conflicts The Cold War was a long standing political situation. After end of the Cold War, foreign policy makers are devoting increasing emphasis to resolve the intrastate conflicts. They do not have much guidance from the social science community. The results of the intervention show that the characteristics of the intervention strategy go a long way to determine the success of the Third Party Intervention. The intrastate conflicts are seen as a threat to the stability. This disturbed the international peace and stability. This domestic conflict was restrained previously because of authoritarian centers of the state. The constraint of third party intervention was relaxed subsequently. In the present environment that persists in the world, intrastate conflicts determines opportunities for some people whereas challenges for the others. In many countries, the political parties take the opportunity of the conflict to create political and social unrest by the means of intrastate conflicts. The people suffer as a result of this persistent situation (Regan, 1996). The fundamental nature of third party intervention has changed. In earlier days, the third party intervention included multilateral intervention like peacekeeping, preventive deployment etc. In recent time the traditional principle of belligerent consent is followed. The force is used only as the means of self defense and is avoided in the present era. The intervention is considered as a conflict management mechanism (Regan, 1996). The United Nations peacekeeping forces were in the forefront of the intervention process around the period of 1987 to 1992. United Nations has always played their part in the conflict resolution for a long time. They act on a global basis. During the period of 1993-94, ethno-political groups were involved in severe conflict. Third party interventions have hogged the limelight politically in past two decades. Such scenarios can be observed in the cases of Bosnia, Haiti, Former Soviet Republic Countries, Somalia, Cambodia, etc. The political and social as well as economical scenario takes a severe beating due to the intrastate conflict. In the economic front, the inflation rate fluctuation is a constant threat at the time of conflict. Therefore, the third party intervention is sometimes mandatory in order to resolve the conflict. In Somalia, for example, the third party intervention by United Nations has helped in restoring some parity in the country. The Somalia for a long time have been facing severe crisis. There is trouble persisting in the political front as well as social sphere. There is a civil war persisting in Somalia for a long time. Third party intervention plays a straight forward role in ensuring security by the means of military peacekeeping. It also works as a supporting figure for the state in terms of economic and social development. There is an inherent tension along with confusion persisting between nation-making with state-building in terms of third party intervention. We see the interrelationship between such interventions. Institutional support and successful building of states is helped by third party intervention. State-building process cannot be done without sustainable development of a nation. Somalia had no national government. While north Somalia is a relatively peaceful, it includes the self-declared ‘Republic of Somaliland’. There is inter-clan, inter-factional fighting which can flare up instantly. Kidnapping, threats to foreigners, murders were the matters of bane of the land. The UN Security Council was voted for authorizing a peacekeeping mission. There was 8000 force in the mission. It was built from members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) forces. IGAD members include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda, and. Sudan. The UN was able to form a resolution in Somalia. The resolution in Somalia has been able to ease the arms embargo which started against the Somali government in 1992. UN resolution bolstered the interim government. It then attacked ICU positions on with the help from Ethiopian troops. An ICU counterattack was instant. It was able intended for cutting off Baidoa from Ethiopian assistance; Baidoa was targeted as a town near the Somali-Ethiopian border. About 350,000-1,000,000 Somalis have died because of the conflict since the period of 1991. Third Party intervention in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Israel and Palestine conflict has been a true world crisis. It has been the major reason for unrest in the Gulf region for past decades. The conflict arose with the invasion of Palestinian controlled areas of West Bank by the Israeli defense forces. There was huge number of death in the region because of the war. During the mid April of the year 2002, Palestinian Authority’s security and governance capacities were disbanded, giving way to a proposal for Third Party Intervention. They were given the task of holding the entire peace operation along with state -building. The United Nations, collectively and also multilaterally, was deployed to work. The initiatives so far have not been much fruitful. The third party has been able to work in the framework of monitoring the activities so far. UN Security Council resolution 1403 along with the US president Bill Clinton tried to put pressure by means international community but their effort did not heed any major success. There is continuous deterioration of demographic, economic and also security situation in the two countries because of persistent conflict. It has proved to create erosion in mutual trust in both the countries. There is a feeling that Israel and Palestine are yet not ready for third party intervention. But the fact is that international intervention has to be a part of resolution of conflict to elevate the pain and suffering of the region (Chopra, 2003). Conclusion The third party intervention has made an impact in conflict resolution throughout the world after the end of the Cold War. As analysed, it can be stated that United Nations Peacekeeping Organisation has done a tremendous work in this period for maintaining global peace. The various national governments like that of USA, UK and other major powers have lent their cooperation and helping hand in this effort. During this volatile period even a small domestic fundamentalist and fanatic can create huge national imbalance. Therefore, to ensure international peace, the third party intervention has been a worthwhile effort on global basis. References Chopra, J., 2003. Third Party Monitoring in the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict. The International Spectator. [Online] Available at: http://www.jha.ac/articles/a151.pdf [Accessed May 09, 2010]. History Learning, No Date. What was Cold War? Modern World History. [Online] Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/what%20was%20the%20cold%20war.htm [Accessed May 09, 2010]. Regan, P., 1996. Conditions of Successful Third-Party Intervention in Intrastate Conflicts. Journal for Conflict Resolution. [Online] Available at: http://jcr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/40/2/336 [Accessed May 09, 2010]. Smithsonian Institution, 2000. Cold War Timeline. Submarine & Cold War History. [Online] Available at: http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/history/timeline/index.html [Accessed May 09, 2010]. Read More