• At the turn of the century, world leaders were optimistic about world peace. This was characterized by the Hague Peace Conference and the establishment of the League of Nations after World War I.
• Optimism gave way to a bipolar world with the creation of multilateral institutions designed to operate in a bipolar climate.
• The beginning of the 21st century is often associated with the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a unipolar global society roughly 1989-91.
• Major international institutions have gone through periods of adjustment concurrent with the global character of the 21st century.

How have the various international institutions adjusted to the demands of the 21st century?

North Atlantic treaty Organization (NATO)

• NATO has had difficulty defining its role in the 21st century.
• NATO has developed a political role as being the "hallmark of democracy" for new and prospective members from former Warsaw Pact countries.
• The alliance's new role must consist of keeping the U.S. in, not excluding Russia and not keeping Germany down as was the case during the Cold War.
• The rise of Germany's importance is key to NATO's future especially, the relationship between Germany and Russia which has deep historical roots.
• Today, most of NATO's resources are devoted to crisis management and conflict prevention. Operations like the one carried out in Kosovo illustrate this point.

European Union

• The EU is parallel to NATO in the sense that it is creating a defense identity alongside NATO and is also working to incorporate Eastern European countries into the union. The U.S. has mixed feelings concerning the creation of an EU defense identity.
• The EU lacks consensus on conflict prevention and crisis management coupled with an ineffective independent security and defense policy.
• EU leaders depend on NATO and consequently the U.S. for backing and resources but do not like it.
• The EU desires a regional security approach but are indecisive as to how to approach it. France wants an independent EU approach while Germany favors a multilateral strategy.
• The EU's relationship with Russia forms part of this regional approach with Germany almost certainly taking the lead in forging this relationship.
• The EU's reluctance to forge closer ties with Turkey even though it is a member of NATO demonstrates the fact that global concerns are not to be an integral part of future EU policy. Despite all of the above, the role the EU will play in the 21st century is still largely uncertain.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe & Conventional Forces in Europe

• Missed an opportunity to assume a leading role in the global security arena in the early 90's.
• Today it is limited to minor roles in crisis management and conflict prevention.

United Nations

• The bipolar Cold War world hampered U.N. efforts at crisis management.
• The end of the Cold War and U.N. activities in Kosovo have sparked a crisis of identity and confidence within the U.N. The well-known financial crisis has also added to the U.N.'s recent troubles.
• The U.N.'s recent globalization strategy should focus on transnational issues, should humanitarian intervention like Kosovo be pursued or should noninterference be the norm?
• Whatever strategy is agreed upon, more needs to be done by the U.N. in terms of security for the 21st century.
• An example of present activities involving security center around statements made by the U.N. Security Council and world leaders stressing the importance of nonproliferation issues in 92 and 93 pursuant to Article 1 of the U.N. charter but did not develop these ideas into concrete action.
• The UNSCOM operation in Iraq is indicative of the above in the sense that it was largely successful in the beginning but collapsed due to lack of political backing by the Security Council and world leaders.
• The Security Council can have more of a role in nonproliferation issues, as opposed to just dealing with major crises.

Question and Answers

Q: How can the institutional culture of the Security Council be changed from an attitude of avoiding or inhibiting compliance related issues? Can the five permanent members of the Security Council be coaxed into taking an active role?
A: A paper on U.N. reform written in 1997 by the ambassador suggests that a system for receiving nonproliferation threat information should be created within the U.N. secretariat. Unfortunately, the Security Council is solely responsible for nonproliferation issues and opposed the idea, this is coupled with a fear of transparency within the U.N.

Q: The Security Council and the U.N. tend to delegate nonproliferation responsibilities to the "big powers" coupled with the fact that several countries most notably China, think that nonproliferation and arms control treaties are an American ideal and therefore an American or "Western" problem. Another point is that the "Washington" attitude centers around the premise that nonproliferation treaties and international systems can be abused or ignored because we can deal with the consequences or pay later. International organizations directly involved with nonproliferation issues feel that we are paying the price already and cannot afford to further abuse treaties.
A: At the present time trust for multilateral disarmament is low in Washington.

Q: What is the value of international monitoring vs. military response?
A: Dynamic diplomacy is essential before any inspections or military responses can be implemented if the success of the operation is to be ensured. Any nonproliferation effort must include a political component.

Q: Can you further comment on mobilizing non-military assets in the realm of crisis management and the use of the OSCE model in other countries like Africa?
A: For crisis management you first need to identify the issue, and then develop a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the issue including dialogue. The OSCE model can be used in other countries but it cannot be a copy of the original program. Variations that address a country's individual needs must be taken into consideration. An African version of the OSCE might include a focus on small arms and confidence building measures.

Q: What can be done to reduce or eliminate the reluctance of the Security Council to become actively involved in nonproliferation issues? Can a conflict prevention committee that reports to the General Assembly on nonproliferation issues be the answer?
A: The General Assembly has been largely ineffective and is jealous of the Security Council so there is little possibility of success. However, it can still be used to make the Security Council aware of the problem and stir it to action. An education campaign for preventative action carried out by the General Assembly might also serve to increase awareness.