Monday, March 11,
2013
After a day of touring Dublin, as well as exploring Istanbul
(as part of a 20+ hour layover), we embarked on the first conflict
resolution-related seminar at the UN training center. [Deleted] led the seminar, entitled “The UN and Irish Defense Forces and Peace Support
Operations.” He discussed many topics, including the Irish Defense forces,
Ireland’s approach to foreign policy, Irish peacekeepers, and lessons that have
been learned throughout the years.
No mission without
approval
In Ireland, the government cannot deploy troops without a
three-part approval process, which requires a mandate from the UN, endorsement
from the cabinet, and approval from Parliament. [Deleted] explained that
this system ensured that military action aligned with 1) the mission of
international peacekeeping and 2) the desires of the Irish citizens. Without
this unique policy, [deleted] warned that civilian policymakers could
distort the mission of the military and/or erode the processes of
accountability. Compared to United States’ policy, Ireland’s three-part
approval process differs by requiring the UN approval.[1]
There is one caveat that provides Ireland’s leaders with, albeit limited,
flexibility: an exemption of required approval for military actions that
require 12 or fewer soldiers. This, however, remains significantly different
from US policy, where the president is limited by time constrains rather than
magnitude of military intervention.
More is less
The culture in Dublin has been really interesting, focusing
on maximizing impact while acknowledging limited resources. This was a focal
point of [deleted]’s discussion at the UN training center. [Deleted] described how Irish troops have such a large voice at the UN, while
have a small military when compared to other similar developed nations. Part of
this can be attributed to the three-part system that Ireland uses to approve
military action. Other elements are also at play. The peacekeeping focus keeps
Irish forces out of controversial military operations. The fact that Ireland
was not a colonial power improves the international perception of Irish
military interventions, which as previously stated mostly peacekeeping
missions. The peace-centric focus of the Irish military has provided increased
credibility when Ireland has previously sat on the UN Security Council. Ireland,
a country with roughly 9,000 military service personnel, has experienced
greater returns from their attitude toward military intervention.
By: Benjamin Lynch
[1] During this conversation, [deleted] alluded to
the United States’ intervention in Iraq as not having followed a UN resolution.
He did, however, condition this statement on the presence of other UN
resolutions that, if accepted, could have provided justification for US
intervention.
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