ブックタイトル佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

概要

佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

“UN’s Potential Role in Resolving Ethnic Conflicts”Seifudein AdemAbstractThe revival of ethnic self-assertiveness in different parts of the globe has cast ashadow of an alarming proliferation of communal conflicts in an otherwise increasinglyhomogenized world. At the same time, it has become abundantly clear that the actualas well as potential gravity of the situation calls for a concerted action. The UnitedNations -- as the embodiment of the will of the international community -- stands outas the sole candidate for this purpose. It is argued in this essay that the task howeverrequires a United Nations as it should be, not a United Nations as it currently is. Inother words, ethnic conflicts are unlike inter-state conflicts in that they have dynamicsof their own. At the center of the phenomena is the question of legitimacy. As muchas legitimacy is an issue central to ethnic conflicts, the same notion -- albeit in adifferent sense--is relevant to the effectiveness of the United Nations in dealing withthem.This essay does not attempt to define the parameters or modalities of future UNinterventions in ethnic conflicts. Its modest ambition is instead limited to identifyingthe variables that need to be taken into account prior to any form of intervention.At the beginning comes a brief overview of the state of ethnic conflict at the turnof the millennium. That would be followed by an elucidation of the characteristic（dynamic）features of these conflicts that ought to be considered in any discussion of850