Term Paper on "International Political Economics the Impact of UN Peacekeeper Corruption"

Term Paper 15 pages (4412 words) Sources: 15

[EXCERPT] . . . .

International Political Economics: The Impacts of UN Peacekeeper Corruption

International political economy tries to understand global and international problems through a diverse interdisciplinary arrangement of theoretical perspectives and analytical tools. International political economy focuses on the constant breakdown of disciplinary boundaries amid politics and economics. it's not easy to image a world devoid of international political economy since the mutual interaction of international economics and international relations is prevalent. The political activities of nations apparently influence international business and the flow of money, which consequently affects the environment in which nations make political preferences, and entrepreneurs make economic preferences.

It appears impracticable to put into consideration significant questions regarding international economics or international politics in devoid of taking into consideration their mutual effects and influences. The United Nations peacekeeping mission currently spends approximately 5 billion dollars on a yearly basis, and these missions frequently face criticism for a wide assortment of destruction they cause in war-torn economies. United Nations peacekeepers face criticism of inducing inflation, co-opting the host local talent, controlling real estate business and pushing most able individuals away from the local private sector and government (Leckie, 2004). This paper highlights the impacts of United States peacekeeper corruption on international politics and economics.

Introduction

Peace is a crucial precondition for economic growth. Peacekeeping missions form the greatest contribution to growth through facilitating restoration and maintaining peace. Without security and peace, there lacks any incentive for individuals to carry out productive investment in the lawful economy, as the possibility of return on investment becomes minimal (Kahler, 2014). Instead, individuals focus on subsistence practice while those with the ability to enforce their own law privately investing in profitable criminal practices such as human trafficking, narcotics and sale of illegal weapons.

Gross Domestic Product per capita in the course of civil wars declined at a 2.2% rate because war lowers production and the gradual loss of capital stock caused by destruction, lack of saving and the fact that people fear loss of their property and instead invest them abroad (Billion, 2011). For instance, Haiti recorded a major drop in GDP per capita in 1994 and 2004 due to civil unrest (Billion, 2008). Similarly, Ivory Coast's GDP per capita reduced between 1999 and 2003 because of civil war and political instability. DRC and Sierra Leone experienced falls in their GDP throughout 1990s and have turned around following the arrival of MONUC and UNAMSIL in 2000 and 1999 (Billion, 2008). Kosovo has also faced a great drop in its GDP per capita for the last 20 years while Yugoslav statistical books places Kosovo per capita Gross Domestic Product as 300 Euros in 1999, but the country is recovering following establishment of peacekeeping operations.

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping entails the active preservation of peace among communities or nations principally through an international military force. Peacekeeping is the most productive tool accessible to the United Nations to help host nations steer the complex path of violence or war to peace. Peacekeeping hold distinctive strengths that include burden-sharing, legitimacy, and the potential to set up and uphold police and troops around the world. Peacekeeping also incorporates troops with resident peacekeepers in efforts of pressing on multidimensional directives (Kahler, 2013). United Nations peacekeepers offer security and peace building assistance to help nations make complex and early shifts from violence to peace. However, UN peacekeeping is directed through three major standard, which include impartiality, the consensus from involved parties, and no use of force, unless in self-defense.

Modern peacekeeping not only entails maintenance of security and peace, but also supporting political process in the host nation, civilian protection, reintegration and demobilization of former combatants, disarmament, foster elections organizations, promote and protect human privileges besides maintaining the rule of law (Kahler, 2013). However, the success of the United Nations peacekeeping is not always a guarantee given that UN peacekeepers are deployed in the most politically and physically complex settings. United Nations peacekeeping constantly acclimatize to novel political realities and challenges. Among the challenges, facing United Nations peacekeeping is corruption. According to Aoi & Thakur (2007), peacekeeping practices come with negative upshots. The deployment of huge numbers of military personnel affects a nation's economy and the entire society. Among the most negative impacts of peacekeeping operations is sexual exploitation and abuse, generation of false economy and corruption. These negative impacts hinder the realization of the mandates of UN peacekeeping missions.

Corruption

One of the oldest human performances is corruption, which is usually a powerful initiating cause for disagreement. According USAID corrupt practices can thrive following conflict given that institutions and laws have not achieved refurbishment with the authority, accountability, transparency and respect required to ward off the potential abusive actions of public officials (Billon, 2008). Different types of corruption, nepotism, extortion, bribery, embezzlement and fraud can emerge easily in conditions where the rule of law is absent. Where impunity flourishes, corruption is a lower high-high gain practice.

Corruption is a main obstruction to growth and development in the post - conflict period. Corruption can take control of donor and state funds and prevent performance of crucial activities of reconstruction infrastructure, provision of fundamental services and forming the blueprint for a replenished economy (Leckie, 2004). Corruption holds the potential of creating the foundations for a criminal nation through supporting human trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism, piracy and money laundering (Cooksey, 2003). When fraud pervades elections, responsibility is lost and when corruption pervades the judicial sector, the law becomes the victim.

Corruption also affects the youth and vulnerable when it pervades the education and health sectors (Pete, Harvey, Savage & Jacobs, 2006). It destabilizes the effectiveness and legitimacy of government leading to loss of public trust. More importantly, corruptions weaken economic growth through augmenting the cost of performing business, lowering fair and just competition and through augmenting the dangers of broken commercial agreements and contracts. However, peace negotiations can handle past wrongs linked to corruption. These negotiations offer a secure setting where parties can talk concerning past injustices, which instigated conflicts while building mechanisms that blocks their recurrence (Zimelis, 2009). For a nation-state to be free of corruption, political will, creativity and readiness are paramount.

According to Billion (2008), scores of conflict-affected nations are among the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption is a main issue affecting foreign aid organizations and local populations in the course of a shift to peace. Addressing corruption forms portion of liberal peacebuilding, which aims at consolidating peace via free market economy and democracy. However, liberalization policies hold the potential of promoting corruption. Billion further claims that corruption has presently become a main item on the international security program. Scores of conflict-impacted nations are among nations that are perceived to be more corrupt across the globe (OECD, 2012). Corruption is accounted among the chief concerns of the local populace in the course of the post-conflict rebuilding period. Concerns in the most powerful countries about security and corruption, are on narcotics, terrorism, state failures, and organized crime (Carnahan, Durch & Gilmore, 2006).

Moreover, corruption is a blockage to peace building. Through weakening legitimacy and effectiveness of public institutions, putting at risk international aid, jeopardizing foreign direct investment and destabilizing economic recovery, corruption augments the dangers of renewed conflict besides weakening the political empowerment and well-being of the local populace. For instance, the corruption occurrence in Herzegovina and Bosnia is viewed as the major source of the nations' economic and political impediments following the Dayton Accord of 1995 (Smith & Cuest, 2011). The most prevalent UN (United Nations) report on peace practices claims that fighting against fraud is a major priority among the indispensable accompaniments to productive peace building.

The issue of corruption has greatly become significance in conflict to serenity shifts eroding confidence in novel democratic organizations, weakening economic growth, lowering the deliverance of significant social resources and redirecting scant public resources. Violence-affected nations provide a perfect setting for insidious corruption (Billon, 2008). The delicate executive establishments and the weak judicial and legal systems of the conflict-affected nations imply that these nations lack the ability to productively explore and castigate corrupt conducts. Additionally, the swift inflow of aid from donors and the aspiration of peacekeepers to give out these aids quickly, generate opportunities and incentives for corruption.

Although corruption inflicts compromises and costs of efforts of peace building, prospects for exploiting public offices are put in use as an incentive to get armed groups into consenting to peace agreements, a trend that leads to stabilization of post-war settings. In nations coming from civil war and with fragile governments, officials who function under indistinguishable laws that allow them to concoct offenses utilize corruption demands prospectively to extract finances from people (Billon, 2008). People may involve themselves in unlawful practices and may require public authorities' protection to enhance their corrupt operations. Peacekeeping polices must shun the practice of prompting sadistic spirals.

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