The Evolution of Collective Security by Frederick Landry C 88
ollective security is a system whereby members agree that a breach of the peace of one member is a concern to all. In addition, members agree that the re-
sponsibility of ensuring that peace and security are maintained, including joining in a collective response, rests with all.
History and Origins of the Principle of Collective Security
Collective security, as a general concept, has been around for over hundreds of years, with the first written intimations of the idea occurring in the late 1700s by various philosophical thinkers. Practically speaking, the idea of collective security serves to both protect any country that has been attacked by another state, and to discourage any state from invad- ing or attacking another. Although a hint of the concept predates even the 1700s through the Treaty of Westphalia, collective security made its first express appearance on the global stage in the early 1900s and is considered a core principle in the framework of both the League of Nations and the United Nations. In order to understand how collective security operates and has transformed into a modern-day application, it is important to explore the origins of collective security and its first practical expressions.
Fathering the Notion of Collective Security
Several political figures and philosophers have been credited with birthing the modern-day no- tion of collective security, the earliest being Ger-
To understand how the system of collective security was ulti-
mately launched in a practical measure, it is important to look to President Woodrow Wilson and understand the position
that he found the United States in during World War I. [He] believed that the United States
and the rest of the world were in a moral position to ensure that
man philosopher Immanuel Kant. In addition to Kant, a less frequently recognized proponent of collective security, Mírzá Husayn-`Alí, known by the title Bahá’u’lláh, predates many of the com- monly regarded fathers of collective security. Regardless, both Kant and Bahá’u’lláh offered distinctive ideas about collective security, sig- nificantly contributing to the practical attempts and expressions of collective security. The most notable of these expressions is the founding of the League of Nations through the leader- ship of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Through a brief look at Kant, Bahá’u’lláh and Wilson’s propositions for a model and framework of collective secu- rity, one can better understand the idea and need of collective security behind the League of Nations and subsequently the United Nations.
such events as those of the Great War never happened again.
Immanuel Kant
In 1795, Immanuel Kant pro- posed an instrument for guar- anteeing international peace
through mutual disarmament and a complete rejection of aggression. Kant rejected the notion of a “just war” and asserted that truces or sus- pensions of hostilities were not enough to bring about peace. Kant believed that such an instru- ment would require something more – an unre- served commitment to peace between states. This system of collective security not only includ- ed a commitment to peace but also the eventual abolishment of any standing army within a state. Kant held that his mechanism for ensuring inter- national peace must be a “league of nations” and
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 3 » February 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112