The Best Offense is a Strong Defense: Appreciating the Strength of Education as the Strongest Alternative to Interventionism

Abstract

The mandate of the United Nations and the efficacy of its actions serve as a focal point of academic and popular attention. The recent Syrian uprising leads many to ask again whether the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, or any of the other principal organs of the international organization are the proper entities to maintain international peace and security. Since its establishment following the Second World War, scores of multilateral treaties continue to pass the desk of the Secretary-General aspiring to resolve global problems. Although, in many instances, these multilateral treaties receive support from a majority of the United Nations’ member states, there is often time little incentive to prevent a nation from fully realizing its good faith obligation to a treaty or international agreement. The Charter of the Untied Nations and basic tenets of international law hold the sovereignty of each state supreme. While interventionism can serve a legally valid, and focused purpose, its narrowly-tailored suitability within the United Nations framework need not expand to better serve the interests of the international community. Instead, the creed and mandate of the United Nations is best served by strict compliance with the principle tenets of international law and deference to the decisions implemented by each member state unilaterally. The solution of education provides a promising alternative to interventionism. This paper references the successful inurement of education in the countries of Chile and Mexico in the recent years and provides for an argument that human rights abuses in conflict with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights may be served better through education rather than interventionism.