Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science Kent Kille opened the 2009 Faculty at Large lecture series Tuesday morning with ìThe United Nations and NATO: Debates and Trends in Institutional Coordination.”
The lecture, which was well attended by students, faculty and staff, addressed topics studied during Killeís fall 2008 research leave.† The leave focused on the nature of cooperation between the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Kille described as ìad hoc” and ìnot structured.”
The lecture focused on areas of cooperation and coordination during the post-Cold War era. Kille explained that due to the USSRís seat on the Security Council of the UN, there was little coordination between the two during the Cold War period.
Kille began the lecture by providing an overview of the U.N. system and a brief history of NATO.† He illustrated the essential dynamic between the U.N. and NATO by examining both groupsí charters.† Kille indicated that the U.N. charter stipulated the Security Council retained ìprimary responsibility” for peace and security issues within the international system, and that regional organizations, while playing a vital role in dealing with such issues, must ìinform the Security Council” of such actions as well as be ìconsistent with U.N. principles.”
Kille then detailed the multiple ways the U.N. and NATO were experiencing institutional coordination in the post-Cold War era. †He alluded to high-level meetings between regional organizations that ìencouraged regular coordination with the U.N.,” and stated NATO was a ìvery active participant” in these meetings.† Kille also discussed the implications set forth from the Joint Declaration between the U.N. and NATO, signed Sept. 23, 2008.† The declaration reaffirmed the two organizationsí ìmutual commitment to peace and security.”
Kille explored the changing dynamic in U.N.-NATO relations through a case study of the actions of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana during the 1999 NATO military operations in Kosovo.† Kille stated that the U.N. had passed a resolution that condemned the actions in Kosovo, but did not authorize military action; this is significant, he argues, because NATO under Solana was then obligated to engage in diplomacy with Annan and other U.N. officials to gain legitimacy for the actions.
Finally, Kille opened the floor to questions from audience members.† Questions ranged from clarifications concerning the future organization of the U.N. Security Council to global perceptions of the strength of the U.N. and NATO.
Both students and faculty warmly received the lecture.† ìThe lecture was interesting to listen to,” said Marc Christian í10.† Stephanie Ham í10 agreed, stating that ìit was interesting to see the increasing link between the U.N. and NATO,” especially as Kille showed this relationship has not been studied extensively in the field of political science.† Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellow Natasha Behl† found the lecture ìevocative.” , ìI am glad that I had the opportunity Ö to learn about my colleagueís current research project,” she said.
The next Faculty at Large lecture will feature Anne Nurse, Associate Professor of Sociology.† Her lecture will address the ìCaptive Audience: The Purpose and Consequences of Juvenile Incarceration.”† Nurseís Faculty at Large lecture will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 11:00 a.m. in Lean Lecture Hall in Wishart.