Understanding Issues of International Politics

International politics refers to the relationships between countries and how they interact on the global stage. Some of the key issues in international politics include:

• Security - Countries seek to protect their national interests and ensure the safety and stability of their citizens. This involves both domestic security within a nation’s borders as well as international efforts to prevent conflict. Maintaining national security often requires diplomacy, building alliances, gathering intelligence, and when necessary, the use of military force.

• Arms Control - Limiting the development and proliferation of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction like nuclear arms, is an important goal of international politics. Arms control negotiations aim to reduce stockpiles and the risk of war through treaties like SALT and START.

• Peace Building - After conflict ends, peace building seeks to prevent violence from reemerging and establish long-term peace. This can involve rebuilding society, creating mechanisms for cooperation, and transforming relationships between groups. International organizations like the UN play an important role.

• Human Rights - Respecting human rights is an ethical concern in international politics. States, IGOs, and NGOs all engage in diplomacy to advance the protection of human rights around the world. However, states often prioritize other interests above human rights.

• Health - Disease transcends borders, so global health issues require international cooperation. Health diplomacy negotiates solutions for communicable diseases, environmental health threats, health system capacity problems, and the social determinants of health.

This overview highlights some of the major ongoing issues in international politics that require diplomacy, negotiation, and collective action between nations to address. The remainder of this piece will explore these issues in greater depth.

Security

Security is an essential factor in international politics that involves protecting states from threats. The main purpose of security is to provide protection and safety for states and their citizens.

The concept of security in international politics dates back thousands of years to early civilizations and kingdoms, which frequently engaged in conflicts and wars over security concerns like territory, resources, and power. Over time, norms and conventions around warfare emerged, like codes of conduct during war. For instance, certain sites like hospitals and religious buildings were designated as protected areas that should not be attacked.

In modern international politics, the definition of security has expanded beyond just military defense against foreign threats. Security now also encompasses protection against non-military dangers like terrorism, climate change, natural disasters, and cyberattacks. Some of the main security threats states face today include:

• Nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction
• Terrorism and transnational crime
• Regional conflicts and civil wars
• Cyberattacks and technological threats
• Climate change and environmental degradation
• Global health issues like pandemics

To address contemporary security challenges, states employ a mix of unilateral and multilateral strategies. On their own, states spend extensively on national defense and border security. But they also form alliances and participate in international institutions like the United Nations to facilitate cooperation on security. However, tensions persist between competing national interests and collective security needs.

Arms Control

Arms control refers to international restrictions on the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of weapons. Historically, it has aimed to prevent war and limit the impact of conventional conflicts.

The first modern arms control treaty was the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 which limited battleship construction. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union negotiated a series of nuclear arms control agreements including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I and II) and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Some key treaties included:

• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 prohibits the spread of nuclear weapons and technology.
• Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 bans the development and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons.
• Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
• Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996 prohibits nuclear test explosions.

Current challenges in arms control include:

• Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran.
• Rise of non-state actors and terrorist groups seeking access to weapons.
• Increase in global military spending and advanced technologies like hypersonic missiles.
• Erosion of existing arms control frameworks like the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and tensions around the renewal of New START.
• Lack of transparency around existing arsenals and capabilities of nuclear weapons states.
• Development of new strategic domains like cyber warfare and space.

Ongoing diplomacy and negotiations will be crucial to update and strengthen international arms control efforts for the 21st century security landscape. But continued geopolitical tensions pose a challenge.

Peace Building

Peacebuilding aims to prevent the recurrence of conflict and establish mechanisms that enhance cooperation and dialogue between different groups. It is a series of capacity building activities, reconciliation efforts, social change initiatives, and a long-term cyclical process.

The term ‘state-building’ is used for foreign interventions that go beyond conventional peacekeeping and peacebuilding mandates, with the aim of building or restoring governance structures to provide physical and economic security.

Peace operations can be divided into two categories:

• Situations where governance systems were destroyed by conflicts with groups claiming authority (e.g. Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) or tensions within structures (e.g. Kosovo).
• Cases with no existing governance systems (e.g. Namibia, East Timor, Afghanistan).

Key challenges include:

• Determining the political conditions and economic capacities needed by the national government. Autocracy is an unstable basis for governance.
• Ensuring consistency between international and local actors. Clarification is needed on their relationships.
• Overcoming inadequate international interest in post-conflict activities, including limited funding and troop commitments.
• Addressing mismatches between desired outcomes and ability to manage resources. Tradeoffs exist between competing priorities.

Strategies for success require:

• Applying lessons learned globally to strengthen weak states and institutions.
• Leveraging existing international institutions like the UN for peace operations.
• Coordinating the many actors involved to mitigate risks of working at cross-purposes.
• Securing high-level commitment to drive major institutional changes.

Food Security

Food security has become a critical issue in recent years, especially after the 2007-2008 food crisis which saw food prices soar to record highs. This crisis highlighted the governance challenges in ensuring access to affordable and nutritious food on a global scale.

The 2007-2008 crisis was triggered by a combination of factors - crop failures in major exporting countries, increased demand for biofuels, rising oil prices, and commodity market speculation. This resulted in staple crops like wheat, rice, and maize becoming inaccessible for the poorest nations. Riots broke out in over 30 countries as the number of undernourished people rose to over 1 billion.

To address food security challenges, governance needs to occur at multiple levels - local, national, regional and global. However, the current system is highly fragmented with different institutions and norms at each level. At the international level, organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP), Food Aid Convention (FAC), and World Trade Organization (WTO) have varying membership and rules regarding food aid. There is little coordination across this arena.

The diplomacy around food aid also differs - WFP has a more open, networked approach engaging with non-state actors like NGOs. In contrast, FAC interactions center around donor countries. As food security crises become more interconnected globally, improved coordination between actors and governance across institutions is required to ensure affordable and equitable access to food.

Human Rights

Human rights diplomacy argues that states and other actors often find themselves in situations where human rights are seen as expendable rather than absolutely required and it is precisely this condition that gives rise to so much modern diplomacy for human rights. Human rights diplomacy is known as the transformation of the international political system in whole or part in pursuit of better protection of human rights.

The key actors in human rights diplomacy include:

• States: By consenting to the international law of human rights, states expect to achieve objectives such as peace, stability, economic advance through the workings of a protected private right to property, or beneficial ideas through respect for freedom of thought and freedom of speech, etc.
• IGO Personnel: IGO personnel walk a tightrope between faithfulness to international standards on human rights and efforts either not to alienate important member states or to engender their positive support.
• NGOs: Human rights NGOs calculate how to maximize their influence to persuade public officials to make or change their policy if their information is found to be incorrect.

Modern diplomacy for human rights may be thought of in two ways:

• Separatist (Pluralist) View: In this view, states may pursue human rights diplomacy when it fits with ‘vital’ national interests such as traditional security and economic interests.
• Solidarist View: In this view, it is the purpose of diplomacy as exercised by state and non-state actors to advance not just the endorsement but the enforcement of human rights without distinction as to nation, race, gender, or other superficial differences.

Health

Definition of Health Diplomacy

Health diplomacy refers to the processes through which government, multilateral, and civil society actors negotiate responses to health challenges, or utilize health concepts or mechanisms in policy development to achieve other political, economic, social, or environmental goals.

The effect of globalization has made health experts and policymakers increasingly aware that health affects and is affected by both domestic politics and international relations. Health diplomacy sees health as having the potential to be a progressive ‘spillover’ force for cooperation in the international system. Global health challenges like pandemics and antimicrobial resistance can affect national security, economic welfare, development, and human dignity—issues at the core of foreign policy and diplomacy.

History of Health Diplomacy

• Health diplomacy traces its roots back to the first International Sanitary Conference in 1851, which focused on coordinating national policies regarding cholera, plague, and yellow fever.

• In the early 20th century, health diplomacy began to focus on the dangers of non-communicable diseases associated with industrialization and globalization. International agreements addressed issues like cross-border pollution, alcohol trade, and narcotics trafficking. The International Labor Organization was formed in 1919 to set standards for occupational safety and health.

• After World War I, health diplomacy further developed around establishing rules of war, including the Geneva Conventions, to reduce suffering of both combatants and civilians and protect the provision of medical care in war zones.

• In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) was established to act as the directing and coordinating authority on global health matters. This marked increased complexity and expansion of health diplomacy beyond just infectious diseases to tackle issues like mental health, tobacco use, environmental threats like the thinning ozone layer, access to vaccines, and more.

Main Actors in Health Diplomacy

• States: Historically, states have been the primary actors in health diplomacy since public health is mainly the responsibility of national governments rather than the private sector. States negotiate treaties, contribute to intergovernmental organizations, and develop domestic health policies.

• Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): IGOs like WHO, the World Bank, and UNICEF are major players in health diplomacy, setting norms and standards, funding programs, and facilitating cooperation on health initiatives between states. Regional organizations like the EU and ASEAN also coordinate health diplomacy among their member states.

• Non-state actors: Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, private sector companies, and other civil society groups are increasingly influential voices in health diplomacy, advocating for issues, implementing programs, and advising policymakers, though they lack formal negotiating power. Partnerships between these actors and states/IGOs are common.

Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases have been a primary focus of health diplomacy historically, as they readily cross borders and require collective action between states. Efforts to control communicable diseases underscore the interdependence between countries in managing health threats. Diplomatic initiatives around communicable disease control have also driven technological advancements like vaccines and antibiotics.

Some major international agreements and initiatives targeting communicable diseases include:

• The International Health Regulations (2005) - This binding legal instrument governs how 196 countries and WHO collaborate to prevent and respond to acute public health risks that have the potential to cross borders. This includes requirements for surveillance, reporting, and response measures for disease outbreaks.

• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - The Global Fund is an international financing institution that raises funds for HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria programs run by local experts. It works closely with governments, civil society, and the private sector in recipient countries. The Global Fund has disbursed more than $45 billion to support these programs since its founding in 2002.

• Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance - Gavi is a public-private global health partnership focused on increasing access to immunization in poor countries. It provides financing for vaccines and works to strengthen health systems and delivery. Since 2000, Gavi support has contributed to the immunization of over 760 million children.

• The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) - Established in 2017, CEPI is a global partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organizations that aims to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has supported the development of vaccine candidates for diseases like Lassa fever, Nipah virus, and COVID-19.

Non-Communicable Diseases

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a broad category of health conditions that are not spread from person to person. They include everything from heart disease and stroke to cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health conditions.

NCDs have become a major focus for health diplomacy in recent decades as their prevalence continues to grow globally. Many NCDs can have significant cross-border impacts due to the global spread of risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles. This creates a situation of interdependence where nations must cooperate to address shared risk factors that drive poor health outcomes.

Key aspects of NCDs as they relate to health diplomacy include:

• Role of multinational corporations: Multinational food, beverage, tobacco, and other consumer product companies play a major role in spreading unhealthy lifestyles and consumption patterns linked to NCDs globally. This creates diplomatic challenges in regulating industries when their interests conflict with public health goals.

• Environmental determinants of health: Cross-border environmental issues like air pollution and climate change have become major determinants of NCDs. Countries must coordinate on environmental protections that mitigate these risks.

• Access to medicines: Ensuring access to affordable essential medicines for NCDs requires international agreements on issues like intellectual property protections and generic drug access.

• Health equity: Poorer nations generally face higher NCD burdens due to social, economic, and political inequities. Wealthier nations have a responsibility to assist in building resilient health systems globally.

• Health security: The economic impacts of NCDs can threaten development goals and political stability if not adequately addressed. This makes NCD prevention a national security priority.

Overall, the growth of NCDs necessitates new forms of collaboration and diplomacy between nations and stakeholders. By acknowledging shared interests in addressing common risk factors, health diplomacy has potential to build stronger global partnerships for improving prevention and control of NCDs.