State Sovereignty

Should we be able to impose our views upon the sovereignty of another state? (This question is in the context of North Korea, the state that likes to have, er, ah, male appendage measuring competitions with other nuclear powers).

 

The liberal perspective on this issue suggests that we need to be continuing with the diplomatic process, and that our continued threats (which are rapidly turning into bluff's) are going to take an effect. Logically you would think that the entire world telling you that you are wrong and that your states attempts to secure itself through the use of WMD's would be enough for you to stop and assess the situation, instead of infuriating the world by putting a WMD on a launch pad, symbolically suggesting that you've had a rather ass day and that you want to be left alone.

 

However the realist perspective suggests that military action is the only option. With NK developing the abilities to turn it's state into the facilitator of WW3 then we need to be going in there, guns blazing, and removing the current leadership & their weapons, and replacing them with democratically elected people.

 

However we have to find a balance (there it is again, the "balance" cop out). So my question is what is that balance? Because at the moment on the realist vs liberal continuum we are so far down the liberal continuum we are just about falling off. What we need now is symbolic action. This can be in the form of mobilising US troops in the south pacific, sending UN naval forces into the region so that they are ready for rapid deployment, or dusting off our sky hawks and doing some patrolling of the coast line!

 

Because when it comes down to it we've been bluffing. Caught with our pants down. Pissing around telling them off over the telephone while they've been running around pulling the fingers to us & not listening.

 

Another perspective on the actions of NK, and out of the context of this question, is that they are currently in the process of a military show of strength as their current leader's health is being questioned. I mean look at Cuba. Castro got crook and the whole country has started to ease up a little. So in the context of NK maybe they are doing this as a counter-defensive measure to suggest to states that they still have the ability to scrap it out with the best of them.

 

North Korea provides a classic example of a maverick state, led by a mad man prepared to do whatever it takes to lead North Korea to being the best state ever. Given NK's inability to deal with the world in a civil manor, it's time we took it to them. I don't mean blow them up, but just scare them into thinking that actually we're quite serious about protecting ourselves, and that if they keep getting smart, we'll smash them.

 

This is Rich the right-wing neo nazi (yes I was called that this week) signing off.