Assignment 1- International Institutions
There are many different International Institutions that help to run the UK as well as the rest
of the world, these institutions will have a common goal which is to spread peace as well as
dealing with major issues. This assignment will consist of these institutions; NATO, the EU
and the UN, what their roles are, their purpose and how they affect the UK Public Services.
This assignment will also focus on other institutions such as Green Peace, World Bank and
the European Court of Human Rights.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
This international institution was created in 1949 to provide security against the Soviet
Union. NATO’s main purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members
through both military and political means, it also protects members against terrorism,
cyber-attacks and even weapons of mass destruction. NATO also believes ‘that an attack
against one or several of its members is considered an attack against all’, this principle is
stated in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and is a principle of collective defence. The
Article has been enforced in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks which occurred in 2001.
This International Institution is made up of 29 different countries, which are; Albania,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US.
Politically, NATO enhances democratic values and allows members to negotiate and
cooperate on any security or defence related issues to resolve problems, create trust, and to
prevent any conflict in the long run. Military, NATO is dedicated to a peaceful settlement of
conflicts. If tactful solutions fail then the military have the power to offer crisis-management
operations. These operations are then carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty
which is NATO’s found treaty or under a United Nations authority, alone or in partnership
with other countries or international organisations. Every day the members that are part of
NATO will come together consult and make decisions on many different levels of security
issues.
The UK became a part of NATO in 1949. There has many different missions and operations
that the UK has been involved in that have had an effect on their public services such as;
The Afghanistan War- In 2014 the British troops left Afghanistan, they had been in
the country since 2001 as they were on a mission to seek the leaders of al- Qaeda after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks that also happened that year. According to the Ministry of
Defence, ‘The UK plays a leading role in NATO, and this troop uplift will make the UK the
third largest contributor to Afghanistan with around 1,100 personnel’.
The Kosovo War- which lasted from (1998-1999) it was NATO’s first war. It began
because the ethnic Albanian’s obstructed ethnic Serbs, and the Yugoslavia government.
Up until the year 1989 the region enjoyed how it had its own government with
Yugoslavia, soon after the Serbian leader decided to change the status of the region by
removing its government. The Serbian leader also decided that the Serbian capital,
Belgrade will have full control over the region, this then led to conflict between the
Serbs and the Albanians. The conflict then began to gain international attention such as
NATO which helped to resolve the conflict. The UK was involved in the conflict as they
were expected to fight alongside the ethnic Albania’s. The government at the time had
