3. Does conflict intervention work?

Activity 1 - What is third party involvement?

Activity Tasks

Explore - Third party involvement is a term used to describe the involvement of a party other than those directly involved in the conflict. This involvement may be violent or non-violent. Why do you think third party intervention in a conflict could be politically controversial?
Research - Research and make notes on the following three types of third party intervention. Which do you think is more effective?
1. Weapons Embargoes (see here for global list)
2. Financial Freezes (see page 4-5 here)
3. Trade Limitations (see here for how the UK has sanctioned DPRK)
Read - Read pages 186-187 of Kirsch, M. (2017). Oxford IB Diploma Programme: Global Politics Course Companion. Make a note of the types of pacific third-party interventions possible.
Identify - Using pages 186-187 above, identify the arguments for and against the UN 'Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) doctrine. To what extent do you think humanitarian intervention under R2P is justified?
Discuss - To what extent is humanitarian intervention under R2P linked to the following course concepts:
1. Power?
2. Sovereignty?
3. Legitimacy?
4. Interdependence?

Activity Tasks

Read - Read the following article about third party intervention in the workplace and answer these questions:
1. What does 3rd party cooperation reward?
2. How do you make 3rd parties more willing to intervene in a conflict?
3. What evidence do Halvey and Halali have to support the model proposed?
4. How could you extrapolate the business examples given to potential conflicts on an International level?
5. “An organization as a whole can create incentives for people to act as game changers or peacemakers,” – Which actor in Global Politics would need to act to make this happen, how?
Groups - Work in groups to review each of these recent third party interventions:
1. The GCC Intervention in Bahrain - The military intervention that the world forgot
2. AU intervention in Libya - AU steps up efforts of reconciling Libyan factions
3. French Intervention in Mali - France's Intervention in Mali
Evaluate - For each intervention you’ve examined, discuss:
1. Who were the main actors involved in this intervention?
2. What happened during this third party intervention?
3. Was it successful in stopping conflict?
4. Did the intervention have an ulterior motive?
5. What would have happened if the intervention didn’t happen?
Extension - Read this extension article and make notes on the arguments for and against the use of military third party intervention by the US.

Activity Tasks

Explore - Examine this article which gives details about the NATO-led, and UN-sanctioned, R2P intervention in Libya in 2011. Make notes on what happened during the intervention:
1. Why was the responsibility to protect invoked?
2. Who intervened and what was their rationale?
3. Did the intervention succeed in stopping atrocities against civilians?
Watch - Watch this speech by former US President Obama. What justification does President Obama give for intervention in Libya? Do you agree with his perspective?
Review - Now review the arguments in this article about whether the NATO intervention was legitimate. Did NATO uphold the R2P or did their actions undermine the principle?
Reflect - What gives outsiders the right to intervene in other countries, especially ones that are far away and may have very different cultures?