Over the last two decades, the world has experienced a myriad of challenges regarding peace and stability. In most cases, the situation embraces overthrowing of regimes such as in the case of Libya, Iraq and more recent in Syria. A majority of the governments have not been changed for years and removing them from power is not an easy task. Due to the immense wealth and powers that those who have been in government possess, they cling on to power resulting in a humanitarian crisis. The core aim of the essay is to elaborate the role that the international community should play to protect citizens and create opportunities for conflict resolution.
The Syrian crisis has existed for far too long, and President Bashar Al Assad and the opposition have failed to reach an agreement to end the war that is rampant in the nation. The President has been in power for more than three decades now, and he is not ready to relinquish power. The primarily reason as to why the government lacks any desire to halt the crisis is due to the fear that it will lose power and the immense support that it receives from its neighboring countries. The neighbor countries are also protecting their interests in Syria, and thus they are facilitating military assistance to President Bashar Al-Assad and his government so that they can protect the status quo while a majority of the Syria citizens are killed while others experience the effects of the war. Apparently, the citizens are the most affected, and thus the international community needs to come in and protect citizens while creating a mechanism through which the crisis can be tackled (Charap, 2013).
Although it is not easy for the international community to arrive at a consensus on how to resolve the raging war in Syria, there is an urgent need to stop the fanatical Jihadist before they turn into a global menace. The first move that the international community should take is to shield the citizens of Syria since they are the ones who experience the effects of the war. The international community should then come up with measures embracing the conflicting parties and attempt to seek a solution. It is important that international actors put aside their self-interest and embrace meaningful talks that will result in concessions. Since the government and the opposition have immense support from various quarters of the world, it is important that the international community comes up with a transition power-sharing deal that will be a win-win situation for both parties so that the conflict can be resolved for peace and stability to prevail in the nation (Charap, 2013).
On the other hand, Iraq has experienced an array of destabilization forced over the last two centuries. Sanctions and civil unrest have been rampant in the country nearly making the state to collapse. In 2014 for instance, the IS (Islamic State) worsened the situation of the country and became a significant threat to the stability of the region. The number of people who were killed in the crisis was very many. Additionally, many people ran away from their homes leading to an escalation in the number of refugees (Kaarbo and Cristian, 2015).
During that period, the international community responded swiftly in a bid to combat a humanitarian crisis and create an opportunity to solve the conflict. The US, for instance, brought a lot of food and other essential needs aid to the northern part of Iraq that experienced much of the effects of the crisis. The US and other nations such as France, UK, and Germany also helped to enhance the capacity of the Iraq’s military to tackle the threat brought by IS. Although the army aid facilitated by the international community is vital to solving the problem, Islamic State (IS) is a very powerful terrorist group that cannot be stopped by the military and thus, it is imperative that it provides long-term solutions (Kaarbo and Cristian, 2015).
On the part of Iran, the nuclear weapon program at Tehran is a significant threat to international peace and security. Although the US, United Nations, and the European Union have leveled many sanctions on Iran, they are not enough to solve the problem that is a significant threat to the entire globe. With other major powers, the US started a campaign to isolate Iran and block it from exporting its oil products to the international market with the aim of isolating it financially so that it could embrace negotiations to solve the nuclear weapon threats. At last, Iran agreed to comply with the international obligations set by the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) (Mingst and Ivan, 2013).
Since the late 1970’s, Iran’s International Relations have experienced turbulence and instability. In most of the Cases, Iran’s policies have come into sharp conflict with not only its national interest but also the interests of its neighboring countries as well. Consequently, the relationship between Iran and other nations has significantly declined. Some of the significant crises that Iran has faced include the hostage crisis in Tehran, its war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988, the spiral conflict with America and the current nuclear situation (Mingst and Ivan, 2013).
Whenever Iran has experienced international relations predicaments, it has blamed foreign powers and in particular the US and Israel for having a conspiracy against its regime. On the contrary, however, its enemies are of the idea that the predicaments have been embraced by the government for its survival in power (Mingst and Ivan, 2013). Nonetheless, issues of self-interest above national interest have always derailed the process of reaching an amicable solution when a crisis occurs. Regardless of the explanation, the international community and specifically the United Nations and the US have played a significant role in reducing war and facilitating peace and stability not only in the Middle East but also in the entire world.
- Charap, Samuel. “Russia, Syria and the doctrine of intervention.” Survival 55.1 (2013): 35-41.
- Kaarbo, Juliet, and Cristian Cantir. “Role conflict in recent wars: Danish and Dutch debates over Iraq and Afghanistan.” Cooperation and Conflict 48.4 (2015): 465-483.
- Mingst, Karen A., and Ivan M. Arreguín-Toft. Essentials of International Relations: Sixth International Student Edition. WW Norton & Company, 2013.
