Few Problems With European Military Behavior example essay topic

Security Communities and Multilateralism 1. The United States and Canada have enjoyed a very peaceful relationship over the past 125 years, even though they share a border that is 5,000 miles long and undefended. Shore says that? neither side regards the other as even a potential military threat, despite the fact that interstate anarchy supposedly makes war an ever-present possibility. Conflicts materialize and are resolved without the expectation that they might lead to violence.? (Shore, 1998,333) Because of this relationship, Shore says the US and Canada are a perfect example of a pluralistic security community.

The peaceful US-Canada relationship is largely the result of the political learning that has occurred over the past two centuries. While the United States and Canada have had their share of political problems, these problems have not been the type that can create insecurity within the region. As Shore says, the undefended border has prompted both the United States and Canada to see each other in pacific terms, even when there is antagonism and miscommunication. Specifically, the demilitarization both countries have engaged in has helped promote a climate of trust between them.

The shared values of the US-Canadian political systems has also guaranteed that a shared US-Canada identity has developed to bind the two countries? interests together, so that they have established transnational relations in terms of shared political economic, and cultural exchange. Shore notes that Canadian and American ways of life have become inextricably linked. As a result, peaceful expectations have reinforced peaceful practices, and vice versa, so that war seems absurd, and an undefended border as well as peace seem normal. Any problems in terms of political behavior have largely involved Canadian nationalism, as Canadian leaders try to get their country to follow a path that isn? t always dependent on the actions of the United States. There have been problems with the two countries? economic behavior, because their economies are linked. The North American Free Trade Agreement has closely connected the American and Canadian economies, so that if one falters the other's economy falters as well.

However, there have been few economic woes since NAFTA became law, which indicates that the economic relationship between the two countries is a strong as ever. For the European Union (E.U.) there are numerous problems with their political behavior. The EU is expanding, incorporating Greece and other Eastern European countries, yet European countries are experiencing a backlash of nationalistic fervor against the immigration that the EU permits. In France, the Netherlands, Austria and other European countries, far right nationalist parties are gaining influence as they speak against the influx of immigrants into their formerly secure borders. Other countries, such as Switzerland, have outright rejected membership in the EU.

Consequently, the EU is facing the daunting task of assuaging the nationalist pride of various European countries. Thus, there are two competing political entities in Europe. There is? Europe? , as a political identity covering other European nations, and then there are the smaller nations themselves, such as Germany and France, that are trying to preserve a sense of cultural identity. As Waever says, the European discourse contains a mixture of? future-oriented logic and elements of more nostalgic, euro-national celebration of uniquely European traditions.

Exactly in the field of security there is a strong emphasis on the self-negating, self-transforming argument in relation to Europe itself.? (Waever, 1998.90) In other words, on the one hand there is Europe itself as a transnational entity. On the other hand, there is a surge in Islamic Fundamentalism, and an effort to avoid Europe's xenophobic past, that pits Europe against itself as it tries to achieve political and economic unity. In terms of economic behavior, Europe has some problems sustaining economic growth, as well as dealing with globalization. Compared to the United States and Asian countries, Europe lags behind in terms of the technological advancement that has been the key to recent economic growth. There are few problems with European military behavior.

This is largely the result of military transparency and confidence building. Waever notes that military transparency exists at an unusually high level, as a result of decades of cooperation in NATO. NATO, as an organization, has developed integrated command structures, joint exercises, and numerous exchange systems, so that the organization has become international in scope. This means that the military is no longer the core nationalist and militarist interest group that it used to be, but has instead developed a culture of openness and transparency. As a result, European nationalism in any form does not translate into military activity as an expression of that nationalism. Looking at Southeast Asian Security, there are comparatively few problems with their political behavior.

There are many problems with their military behavior. There are some problems with their economic behavior. In terms of expectations, for US-Canada relations, there is significantly more cooperation than conflict. For European Union, there is more cooperation than conflict.

For Southeast Asia, there is an equal amount of cooperation and conflict.