By Monte Bona
Salt Lake City, UT –
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The interdependent world community is faced with two crucial issues: Terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Both issues can be dealt with best in the context of collective security, which has three basic propositions: First, countries do not use force except in self-defense. Second, peace is indivisible. Third, nation-states unite to stop aggression and restore peace, and they all agree to share in the costs. In collective security, acts of violence must be seen as transgressions against all of the participants, who act accordingly.
The propositions of collective security are now being followed in the war with Iraq. Therefore, when the overwhelming force of the United States does indeed prevail, we may be perceived as the superpower aggressor. Without the broad coalition that existed in the Gulf War, the hate of the terrorists could be focused even more on America.
Concurrently, nation-states capable of producing nuclear weapons may increase their efforts in a unipolar world. The checks and balances of a bipolar world no longer exist, and a viable multi-polar system struggles to emerge. In the aftermath of the war with Iraq, we may indeed find that without the effective use of collective security, the evils of terrorism and nuclear proliferation may become more intense.