"Lets all work together... or not..."

Hello SC people.

Sorry for the delay in the blog. I know you were all anxiously awaiting the next SC post... right? Don't answer that.

If the title wasn't any indication to the topic of this post, here is some clarification. Terrorism is highly complex (as you will see with later blog posts). One question that comes to mind is whether or not this complexity necessitates multilateral action. Generally speaking, the UN calls for multilateral action to resolve global issues. It makes sense. Global issues [such as cross-border terrorism :-O] affect many countries so it is usually commonplace to hear suggestions for multilateral (or in some cases bilateral) action. STOP!

Multilateral: agreed upon or participated in by three or more parties, especially the governments of different countries (Oxford dictionary)
Bilateral: involving two parties (Oxford dictionary)
Unilateral: (of an action or decision) performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of another or the others (Oxford dictionary)

Multilateral agreements are more common among nations who are more influenced by the liberal theory in international politics. Collective security and collective action in adressing issues are stressed. The United Nations is founded on liberal IR theory and thus we can see many instances of multilateral arangements. Past multilateral action on terrorism has been taken. You will see one such example in the background papers (WHICH YOU MUST READ OR ELSE DARKNESS WILL FALL UPON MANKIND!!!). The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (or UNODC) has an entire section dedicated to combating terrorism which calls for multilateral action and cooperation.

Not all UN members share this liberal ideology. There are many who are influenced by realist theory (aka the Dark Side) where states act provided it is in their self-interest. These nations generally favour unilateral action as they are free too pursue the course of action that they deem is in their national self-interest. The question is, in which camp does your country fall? Give into your inner nerd and research for clarification.

As always, if you have any specific questions relating to the SC or to HSMUN, feel free to contact us or the HSMUN executive. We may be several strange, old, scary people, but we are nice at heart and here to make this experience as awesome as possible. Next week: WHO KNOWS! Will we return to our discussions on terrorism? Will we discuss more issues surrounding the topic? Will we take a whole new direction? Stay tuned to the blog to find out more!

"Everybody’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it."
-Noam Chomsky