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We are living in an ever increasingly-globalized economy. Even the poorest developing countries are, with few exceptions, well integrated into the global economy; the incredible and permanent interdependence of the world's economies has been brought into especially sharp focus in recent years as the economic crisis spread across the globe like a wildfire with decisions made by countries as small as Greece having global consequences. The deepening interdependence between the close to 200 countries in the world has led to the establishment and growing significance and power of a multitude of Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) with the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization being the most prominent. It has led to a proliferation of international conventions, regional development banks and political organizations as well as bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
As such, it makes more sense than ever before to speak of the 'international community of states and IGOs' and to ascribe to this global community a set of moral responsibilities and obligations to deal with issues of international concern.
Yet, this international community is a deeply complex and poorly organized system with a diverse array of members. The responsibilities of the international community in the aggregate are not easily defined but it is apparent that, given the impact of globalization and the way that it has globalized political issues and problems that would have been seen as purely domestic concerns 50 years, they do exist.
All of this leads me to a discussion I'm interested in having and a list that we can debate the merits of! We all love lists, right?
I'm interested in knowing what you all think are the greatest moral failures of the international community, keeping in mind that some countries (the developed countries, the newly industrialized countries) bear a greater responsibility to help solve these global crises than others. So, here are two lists. The first is a set of questions I think it would be interesting to debate about the role and responsibilities of the international community writ large. The second is a list of what I believe are the greatest moral failures of the international community.
Questions to discuss:
1. Does the international community, as defined above, have a set of moral responsibilities and obligations and, if so, what are they?
2. Do different countries have different levels of responsibility?
3. Which countries are the world's leaders; which countries have the special obligation of taking a leading role in addressing problems of international significance?
The Greatest Moral Failures of the International Community that Currently Remain Unsolved:
1. Allowing, and subsequently failing to seriously address, the complete collapse of Somalia which is the world's greatest failed country.
2. The continued existence of concentration camps in North Korea where crimes against humanity are routine and widespread.
3. Failure to address the continued widespread violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which experienced one of the 10 deadliest wars in human history between 1998 and 2003.
4. The failure of the developed countries to adequately address absolute poverty in the world's poorest countries. Today more than 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, more than 2 billion live on les than 2 dollars a day.
5. The failure to seriously pursue the development of cures and the provision of medication and other mitigation tools for tropical diseases like Malaria and Dengue Fever.
6. The failure to develop a comprehensive global plan for tackling global warming.
7. The unwillingness to deal with and general inaction towards governments committing crimes against humanity on their own citizens (Syria, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Burma).
So anything I'm missing? Disagree with some of these?
No responses yet? I always am disappointed in the general lack of interest in responding to posts about international events (at least those not directly concerning the US).
I suggest the original post be moved to Great Debates because a properly thought out answer involves far more then Politics.
IMNO the greatest international problem is allowing people to be considered property and used a collateral for loans or sold into slavery.
I thank you for the advice, but this is a political question at heart. I'm questioning the moral obligations of states, the ultimate political actors, and every failure I listed is political.
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