10.4.5
Evaluating Military Interventions
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Military Interventions
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Military Interventions
Military interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success. The recent history of military interventions suggests that there are significant costs, including loss of sovereignty and human rights.
Costs
Costs
- The major cost of military interventions is the large numbers of deaths, civilian as well as personnel.
- E.g. the war in Afghanistan is estimated to have caused 150,000 deaths.
- Another cost is the number of refugees who have fled conflict zones.
- E.g. 4 million people are thought to have fled Syria in recent years.
- Another cost is the sheer devastation done to cities, towns and villages.
- E.g. the almost total destruction of Aleppo with over 34000 buildings destroyed.
Accuracy and benefits
Accuracy and benefits
- Accurate figures for all of the costs cannot be determined.
- They are estimates made by neutral IGOs and NGOs.
- Benefits are also difficult to determine.
- Protagonists often depend on the argument that things would have been worse without the intervention.
Non-military Interventions
Non-military Interventions
Military interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success.
UN peacekeeping
UN peacekeeping
- UN peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:
- Consent of all parties in the conflict.
- Impartiality.
- Non-use of force except in self-defence.
- The UN is able to draw on troops, police and some civilians from around the world to provide its peacekeeping forces.
- The costs are shared by UN member states.
- UN peacekeepers are asked to undertake a wide variety of tasks, from disarmament and reintegration of former combatants to helping to build sound governance and monitoring human rights
Examples
Examples
- Countries affected in the recent past include Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Cambodia, El Salvador and Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
- Successes and failures are difficult to determine; some say the intervention in Cote d’Ivoire was a success and that the intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Srebrenica) was a catastrophic failure.
Non-intervention Instead of Military Intervention
Non-intervention Instead of Military Intervention
Military interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success. The recent history of military interventions suggests that there are significant costs, so sometimes non-intervention is chosen.
Lack of action
Lack of action
- One option is to ‘Turn a blind eye’ and do nothing.
- Lack of action has global consequences which may impact negatively on progress in environmental, political and social development (poverty, human wellbeing and human rights).
- An issue not covered by military interventions is the need for greater care of the environment.
- Some suggest that a lack of action threatens the survival of the human race and so would make issues relating to human rights irrelevant.
IS
IS
- Some suggest that the rise of IS (Daesh) is a salutary reminder of the dangers of doing nothing.
- IS (Daesh) emerged in the aftermath of the chaos following the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Peacekeeping in Cote d'Ivoire
Peacekeeping in Cote d'Ivoire
Peacekeeping in Cote d'Ivoire started in 2010 as a civil war broke out.
Civil war
Civil war
- Cote d’Ivoire is a former French colony, gaining independence in 1960, with a mix of peoples of both Christian and Islamic faith.
- In 2010 a Muslim president (Alassane Ouattara) was elected defeating the previous Christian president (Laurent Gbagbo).
- Gbagbo refused to step down and a civil war ensued.
UN Peacekeeping
UN Peacekeeping
- The UN sent in a peacekeeping force to protect civilians, bring about disarmament and reintegration as well as protect human rights.
- Gbagbo was arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
- Tensions remain and thousands of UN blue-helmet troops are still in the country.
1Tectonic Processes & Hazards
1.1Tectonic Processes & Hazards
1.2Natural Disasters
1.3Natural Disaster Case Studies
1.4Trends & Patterns
2Option 2A: Glaciated Landscapes & Change
2.1Glaciated Landscapes Over Time
2.2Periglacial Landscapes
2.3Glacial Processes
2.4Glacial Landforms
3Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes & Change
3.1Coastal Landscapes
3.2Coastal Erosion & Deposition
3.3Coastal Risks
4Globalisation
4.1Globalisation
4.2Negatives of Globalisation
4.3Global Shift
4.5Culture
4.6Measuring Development
5Option 4A: Regenerating Places
5.1Types of Economies
5.2Function of Places
5.3Regeneration
5.4Regeneration Case Studies
6Option 4B: Diverse Places
6.1Population Structure
6.2Past & Present Connections
6.3Urban & Rural Spaces
6.4Diversity
6.5Urban & Rural Case Studies
6.6Case Study - Tower Hamlets
6.7Case Study - Sturton-le-Steeple
7The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity (A2 only)
7.1Hydrological Processes Global to Local
7.2Influences on the Water Cycle
7.3Water Insecurity
8The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security (A2 only)
8.1The Carbon Cycle
8.2Energy Consumption
8.3Alternative Energy
8.4Growing Demand for Resources
9Superpowers (A2 only)
9.1Superpowers
9.2Hard & Soft Power
9.2.1Hard & Soft Power
9.2.2Emerging Powers - China Rivalry
9.2.3Emerging Powers - Chinese Sources of Power
9.2.4Emerging Powers - Brazil
9.2.5Emerging Powers - Russia
9.2.6Emerging Powers - India
9.2.7Theories of Development
9.2.8Power Case Studies: Chinese One Belt One Road
9.2.9Power Case Studies: Pakistan Nuclear Arms
9.2.10Power Case Studies: OPEC
9.3IGOs, TNCs & Alliances
10Option 8A: Health & Human Rights (A2 only)
10.1Human Development
10.2Role of Governments & IGOs
10.3Human Rights
10.4Interventions
11Option 8B: Migration & Identity (A2 only)
11.1Globalisation & Migration
11.2Consequences of Migration
11.3Nation States
11.4Responses to Global Migration
Jump to other topics
1Tectonic Processes & Hazards
1.1Tectonic Processes & Hazards
1.2Natural Disasters
1.3Natural Disaster Case Studies
1.4Trends & Patterns
2Option 2A: Glaciated Landscapes & Change
2.1Glaciated Landscapes Over Time
2.2Periglacial Landscapes
2.3Glacial Processes
2.4Glacial Landforms
3Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes & Change
3.1Coastal Landscapes
3.2Coastal Erosion & Deposition
3.3Coastal Risks
4Globalisation
4.1Globalisation
4.2Negatives of Globalisation
4.3Global Shift
4.5Culture
4.6Measuring Development
5Option 4A: Regenerating Places
5.1Types of Economies
5.2Function of Places
5.3Regeneration
5.4Regeneration Case Studies
6Option 4B: Diverse Places
6.1Population Structure
6.2Past & Present Connections
6.3Urban & Rural Spaces
6.4Diversity
6.5Urban & Rural Case Studies
6.6Case Study - Tower Hamlets
6.7Case Study - Sturton-le-Steeple
7The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity (A2 only)
7.1Hydrological Processes Global to Local
7.2Influences on the Water Cycle
7.3Water Insecurity
8The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security (A2 only)
8.1The Carbon Cycle
8.2Energy Consumption
8.3Alternative Energy
8.4Growing Demand for Resources
9Superpowers (A2 only)
9.1Superpowers
9.2Hard & Soft Power
9.2.1Hard & Soft Power
9.2.2Emerging Powers - China Rivalry
9.2.3Emerging Powers - Chinese Sources of Power
9.2.4Emerging Powers - Brazil
9.2.5Emerging Powers - Russia
9.2.6Emerging Powers - India
9.2.7Theories of Development
9.2.8Power Case Studies: Chinese One Belt One Road
9.2.9Power Case Studies: Pakistan Nuclear Arms
9.2.10Power Case Studies: OPEC
9.3IGOs, TNCs & Alliances
10Option 8A: Health & Human Rights (A2 only)
10.1Human Development
10.2Role of Governments & IGOs
10.3Human Rights
10.4Interventions
11Option 8B: Migration & Identity (A2 only)
11.1Globalisation & Migration
11.2Consequences of Migration
11.3Nation States
11.4Responses to Global Migration
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered