discussion
Western Europe had a war with assimilation and took history out of the game after 1945. Now it is back with brutality.
Our fight: Ukraine is fighting for its own self-determination and will not be subject to a totalitarian regime, writes Professor Erik Odvar Eriksen. Here is from President Zelensky’s address to Parliament at the end of March. Photo: Heiko Junge / POOL / NTB
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External comments: This is a discussion article. Analysis and the author’s point of view.
Eric Odvar Eriksen
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In interstate relations, the strong often do as they please, while the weak must bear what they must. The United Nations and other international organizations have tried to do something about this by institutionalizing legal principles at the supranational level.
international law state It was painstakingly built after World War II. With the Charter of the United Nations and an extensive legal development in its wake, the chaotic interstate sought to bring it under some sort of control. A number of conventions, agreements, procedures, and institutions have been created to resolve disputes between nations and to ensure that power is no longer valid.
It’s in this The perspective from which the conflict in Ukraine should be viewed. The statement that Ukraine should not lose the war indicates a law-based conception of international relations. Ukraine is fighting for its self-determination and will not be subject to a totalitarian regime. The country is a member of the United Nations and has the right to defend itself. Russia has violated the UN Charter, which prohibits aggressive war.
As they say, Ukraine is fighting our battle. They are not only fighting for our values, but also for our right to self-determination within a legal framework. If Ukraine loses, we lose too.
Increased attacks on civilians
Ukraine wants membership in the European Union (EU) and has now been granted candidate status. This means that the country becomes part of a system based not on the right of the strongest, but on pluralism and legal principles. It is a system in which only democratic states that adhere to democratic principles of the rule of law can become members. It is a system in which the power of states is limited and where there are procedures for resolving disputes.
There has been no war in Western Europe since 1945. History has now brutally returned to Europe. The European integration process was a response to the nightmare of war, destruction and crimes against humanity that in 1945 was a frenzy to prevent their recurrence. Then many campaigned to establish a new world order, even a world government with its own police force to maintain world peace.
That’s why Ukraine is rallying now
Active global community It requires states to relinquish part of their sovereignty and submit to a higher authority that can act on behalf of all. Great powers must be tamed. The possibilities existed in 1945, but the great powers were unwilling to be bound by the collective security arrangements of the United Nations. The nuclear powers were granted veto power in the Security Council, and the creation of a separate UN army was not discussed. Once the international community targets the great powers, they veto, and nothing is done. Therefore, the United Nations is as paralyzed in the Ukraine war as the organization was in the US-led war against Iraq.
The problem with Great power politics and nationalism did not disappear with the formation of the United Nations. Aggressive wars are prohibited, but the means of punishment in the international community are limited. The ICC is important, but it is not recognized by the major great powers. The world is still a dangerous place where authoritarian regimes thrive. The United Nations can do little about human rights violations.
– Go to the hell!
This was the situation The Europeans, with their war history, had to do something about it. They have learned and taken responsibility. We’ve got the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Integration Process, where the former combatants are put into binding cooperation. They relinquished sovereignty in order to establish a legal system of peace and justice among nations. Member states were constrained in supranational structures, which were supposed to prevent walking alone and fomenting wars. It happened first with the Coal and Steel Union, which centralized the means of war production, under the control of what would later become the powerful European Commission.
Thunder: – They are killers
In Europe it has Countries have already managed to remove the state of war between states and establish a legally organized system of peaceful cooperation. Legal orders are peace orders and are the basis of any successful cooperation. We see the development of a political system that is neither based on a culturally homogeneous people nor established through violence and brute force. The European Union is a voluntary organization that respects the identity of its partners. Moreover, the European Union is an economic superpower with democratic qualities and has gradually become an important player in security policy.
This is how Putin wins the energy war
Only democratic countries It can become a member of the European Union. This is different from what was the case with NATO and what is the case with the United Nations. In order to become a member of the European Union, there must be a lot in place. Applicants must have stable institutions that guarantee democracy, rule of law and human rights. By giving Ukraine the promise of membership, the European Union once again responded to the war with integration.
If Ukraine wins, the Russians will not necessarily lose. But the Putin regime must lose so that the Russian people can determine their own destiny through free elections and an open exchange of words under legal conditions.
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