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Brazil Model United Nations XVII Political Committee Chaired by Gabriel Paiva, Isabella Sendas & Laura Cosendey
POLITICAL COMMITTEE
BRAZIL MODEL UNITED NATIONS XVII
Chaired by Gabriel Paiva, Laura Cosendey & Isabella Sendas
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Brazil Model United Nations XVII Political Committee Chaired by Gabriel Paiva, Isabella Sendas & Laura Cosendey
Table of Contents Letter from the dais 4
Committee description 5
Topic A: Mediating fractures in the Iranian nuclear deal 6
Background information 6
Bloc positions 11
Timeline of pertinent events 14
Glossary 14
Guiding questions 15
Bibliography 15
Topic B: Debating the rise of alt-right movements in Europe and the Americas 17
Background information 17
Bloc positions 23
Timeline of pertinent events 29
Glossary 31
Guiding questions 32
Bibliography 33
Topic C: The inspection and regulation of state surveillance 34
Background information 34
Timeline of pertinent events 41
Glossary 42
Bloc positions 43
Guiding questions 45
Bibliography 46
Further research 47
Letter from the Dais Dear delegates of the Political Committee,
As members of this year's board of the Political Committee we would like to give you all a warm welcome to BRAMUN XVII! We are very excited to see you and help you in any way possible. We hope that when you all leave this conference you will become better delegates, by allowing yourself to make mistakes. One of our aims in this edition of BRAMUN is to make sure all of you feel comfortable in our committee, from beginners to the more experienced delegates. We believe that you will meet the expectations of your assigned countries, especially in light of the crises at hand. The Chairs hope you will work hard and cooperate effectively both during and prior to the session.
In Topic A, we will be mediating fractures in the Iran Nuclear Deal. Since the U.S. pulled out of the agreement, many flaws in the deal came to light, and they must be addressed before this issue goes on any further. Topic B will debate the insurgency of alt-right movements, especially in Latin America and Europe, which has prompted a wave of ultra nationalism and discrimination against minorities. Topic C aims to delineate the lines between privacy and security. To what extent are our governments spying on us, and can these institutions even be trusted in this sophisticated modern world?
This study guide has been written so that you delegates can have a better understanding of what will be debated in each topic, in order to guide you to write your position papers and resolutions. In addition to the information given to you in this study guide, we expect you all to do your own further research into your country’s views on the topics being discussed. We also recommend that you all read the Delegate Handbook available to you in the BRAMUN website - it can be more helpful than you think. Especially to the delegates that are less experienced with Model UN! We are very excited to have you in the Political Committee, and if you have any doubts or just simply want to talk about the conference, please do contact us via the emails we shared in our Meet the Team page in the BRAMUN website! We will be very glad to help you.
With great pleasure,
Gabriel Paiva Chair
Isabella Sendas Co-Chair
Laura Cosendey Co-Chair
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Committee description The Political Committee is one of the eldest and effective members of the
United Nations. Being a mode of the General Assemble it may utilize of its powers,
and has the intake of most nations of the globe in one session, making it one of the
most truly democratic and balanced committee. In matters involving political
institutions nations rich and poor unlike have equal voice and footing in this
committee. Issues involving conflicts between two or more states, situations causing
civic unrest, and world-changing phenomena all fall into the scope of the Political
committee.
It acts much like a last resort. Mediating problems that are down on the path
of disaster, but can still be mediated before the likes of the Security Council get
involved. As such the Political Committee takes an important place, snuffing conflict
before it may erupt.
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Topic A Mediating fractures in the Iranian nuclear deal
Background information
The Iranian Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), is a 159-page agreement with five annexes reached by Iran, the P5+1
(China France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the
European Union on July 14, 2015. The deal was a result of many years of tension
over Iran’s alleged attempts to develop nuclear weapons. Even though they insisted
the nuclear programme was purely peaceful, the international community was not
convinced. It is a long-term agreement which would, ideally, decrease Iran’s nuclear
stockpile immensely.
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The deal was endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and
adopted on October 18, 2015, when the countries began taking the necessary
measures to put into action their commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action. Iran’s adherence to the nuclear-related restrictions of the JCPOA would be
verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to certain
requirements set in the agreement. For example, Iran previously had approximately
20,000 centrifuges, compared to the little over 5,000 they are allowed to have
functioning today - and the IAEA checks whether the Iranian state is actually using
them. As a result of Iran verifiably meeting its nuclear commitments, the United
States and the EU have lifted nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, as described in the
JCPOA - or at least they did until now.
Back in 2017, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the Majles, stating that
the last round of U.S. sanctions were violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action. “Those who for months spoke about tearing up the JCPOA have recently
started to accuse Iran of violating its spirit despite seven IAEA reports, which have
confirmed Iran’s complete implementation of the deal. Because they have been
advised by their advisers that (should they leave the agreement) they’d be isolated
on the international stage,” Mr. Rouhani said. He then added that “if they want to
return to that experience, surely, in a short amount of time, not in a period of weeks
and months, but hours and days we will return to a much more advanced situation
that at the time of the start of the talks.”
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Iran’s nuclear programme is not the only one the United States is paying
attention to, the Iranian ballistic programme is also under their radar. Washington
defends it violates a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution. However, Tehran denies
this allegation, stating that the tests are in adherence to the resolution since the
missiles are not made to deliver a nuclear payload. Nonetheless, the Obama
Administration had sanctioned Iranian citizens involved in the ballistics programme,
even after the JCPOA came into force. Mr. Trump made it clear that the United
States would push Iran harder. In February 1st 2017, the Treasury Department issued
a new round of sanctions aimed towards the Iranian ballistic programme. A second
set followed in May and two more in July. Even so, Tehran did not seem affected by
U.S. sanctions, since in August 20th 2017, the Majles approved $1 billion in spending
for the ballistics programme and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps - both of
which are under sanctions from the United States.
In March 2017, President Donald Trump ordered his Secretary of State to
analyse whether the United States abiding by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action was in the United States’ national interest, conveying the idea that the
administration may be trying to pull out of the agreement.
During Mr. Trump’s Presidential Campaign in 2016 (and long after), he
continuously ridiculed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, claiming it “was a
horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” On May 8, 2018
Donald Trump made an official announcement stating that he would sign a
presidential memorandum to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on Tehran,
and “instituting the highest level of economic sanction.” President Donald Trump
also stated that “the United States no longer makes empty threats”, and that “when
(he) makes promises, (he) keeps them”, referring back to the promises he made
during his Presidential Campaign to rip up the Iran Nuclear Deal.
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As a result, the United States of America will be reinstating all the sanctions it
had waived as a part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - a significant part of
the reason why Iran caved into signing the deal. However, now President Trump
intends to impose new economic sanctions against the Iranian government which
are currently being drawn up.
What will be left of the JCPOA?
The sanctions Washington will be imposing covers a range of industries, from
transportation and petroleum to insurance and finance. These were slowly
reinstated during the 6 months following President Trump’s announcement. For
now it is unclear whether his decision to withdraw will lead to the collapse of the
agreement,
For the time being, all of Iran’s restrictions remain the same, and the
inspections done by the International Atomic Energy Agency will continue to go on.
As of the European Union, their previous sanctions remain either suspended or
terminated. So, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action remains the same for all
countries who still abide to the treaty.
The situation before and after the agreement
Before the Iranian Nuclear Deal was signed, the United States had banned
the import of Iranian goods, services, and practically all trade and investment by
Americans in Iran. The European Union was working together with the U.S. to isolate
and weaken the Iranian economy, imposing extensive international sanctions which
included an oil embargo and limits on Iranian banking.
They were both imposing sanctions because Iran had the technical capability
to become a nuclear-weapons state. According to some experts, it only needed a
few months to make the necessary bomb fuel. The Iranian state was indeed being
monitored, since it is a signer of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Nonetheless, the
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United States of America and the European Union felt like Iran’s nuclear stockpile
needed to be decreased and that the monitoring should be more thorough.
After the agreement was signed, the United States unfroze billions of dollars
of Iranian funds held in foreign banks and ended the implementation of
nuclear-related sanctions. The European Union ended the oil embargo and all
United Nations sanctions regarding the Iranian nuclear programme were terminated.
Iran’s capability to secretly make nuclear weapons was severely
compromised or eliminated, and the International Atomic Energy Agency made
regular inspections to make sure Iran was following the agreement, since now
experts were allowed to keep track of their uranium mines, mills and centrifuge
production, helping provide verifiable assurances.
The sanctions previously
imposed by the United Nations,
European Union, and the United
States trying to compel Iran to stop
uranium enrichment crippled their
economy, costing Iran more than $160
billion in oil revenue from 2012 to 2016
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alone. After the agreement was implemented, Iran re-gained access to more than
$100 billion in frozen assets overseas, and was able to return to selling oil on
international markets and using the global financial network for trade. The
percentage uranium enrichment Iran has to use now is 3.67%, very low compared to
others.
Despite the arguments used by Mr. Trump to justify breaking the agreement,
Iran has complied with the terms of the deal. The International Atomic Energy
Agency has confirmed seven times since Implementation day on January 16th 2016
that Iran is adhering to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, should
Iran violate the deal, the UN sanctions will be reinstated for 10 years, with a chance
for a 5-year extension.
Even though the remaining countries in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action have decided to continue adhering to the deal, many European and Asian
companies are actually worried that if they do continue to trade oil and other goods
with Iran, the United States will be cutting them from doing business with the U.S..
This is not a risk that most of them are willing to make.
Bloc Positions Iran: For the time being, it will continue to follow the terms set out in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, President Hassan Rouhani did alert Mr. Trump that abandoning the deal would be a “historic mistake”. He also stated that Iran had plans for “whatever decision is made by Trump” and that “when in comes to weapons and defending our country, we will not negotiate with anybody.” Even though the sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union, and the United Nations before the JCPOA came into action crippled the Iranian economy, experts say that Iran has suffered from U.S. sanctions for a very long time, and claim that Iran can stand its ground for some time as long as the European Union complies with the deal as well.
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United States of America: Donald Trump has long been looking forward to the day where he would rip up the Iran Nuclear Deal, and last year he managed to leave the JCPOA. The United States of America is now reimposing their previously lifted sanctions, claiming Iran had not been following the agreement, and that “(the deal) did more harm than good.” President Trump said he wanted a “better deal” from Iran. Even though some important European countries came to the United States to try and negotiate with Mr. Trump, their efforts were in vain. He did not agree to their concessions and suggestions, opting instead to leave the treaty despite warnings from Iran and advice from the previous American President Barack Obama. France: The French President Emmanuel Macron has been the leading European force on protecting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and has gone to Washington himself to try to persuade President Donald Trump not to leave the deal in May 7, 2018 - the day before Mr. Trump was making his announcement. France, who at the start of the talks back in 2015 had taken a side against Iran, was negotiating with President Trump to remain in the deal, and suggested that other European countries would help him push Iran to halt missile tests and other upsetting behaviour in that region. The French and Iranian Presidents have both agreed to work closely in order to preserve the JCPOA. United Kingdom: UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron have talked and “agreed that there were important elements that the deal does not cover, but which we need to address -- including ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires, and Iran's destabilizing regional activity," said a statement from the UK government. Also, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson travelled alongside President Macron to Washington to negotiate with President Donald Trump, proving how both of these European countries are seeing eye to eye in this significant matter. Russia: The Russian foreign ministry published a statement stating that Moscow is “deeply disappointed by U.S. steps to reimpose its national sanctions against Iran,” and then adding, “We will do everything necessary in the interests of preserving and fully
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implementing the SVPD (Iran nuclear deal).” The ministry is also “taking appropriate measures on a national level to protect trade and economic cooperation with Iran. The Ministry also believes that this is in the interests of the international community, and that countries around the world should not allow the Iranian Nuclear Deal to be “sacrificed to American attempts to settle scores with Iran on issues unrelated to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” China: China remains loyal to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying it will “protect and execute the agreement”, but as the United States reimpose their sanctions, the Chinese firms may be affected. Nonetheless, Beijing will continue to abide by the agreement and make more ties with Tehran. Germany: Alongside President Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany believes that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon is of great importance. Germany is indeed against the United States leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and was part of the group trying to preserve it. Germany and France are both leading members of the European Union, and they believe “that this is an agreement which belongs to the international community”, said the EU ambassador. “This is not an agreement that will fall apart if you just walk away.” Israel: Israel is one of the few countries in the international community which has congratulated President Donald Trump for pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The Israeli Prime Minister has campaigned against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action . He made allegations that Iran sent fake reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and that the JCPOA was made based on lies. Prime Minister Netanyahu also accused Iran of trying to obscure the files and relocate them to a secret location, and he claims he has proof.
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Timeline of pertinent events
14/07/2015
Finalization day: The JCPOA was signed. This is when Iran and the other countries began domestic review processes of the agreement. Iran also began providing the IAEA with the necessary information for the agency to complete its investigation into past activities related to nuclear weapons development.
20/07/2015
The UN Security Council endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Resolution 2231.
18/10/2015
Adoption day: 90 days after the UN Security Council Resolution endorsing the agreement passed. Iran and the P5+1 are taking steps to meet the terms of the deal.
16/01/2018
Implementation day: The IAEA verifies that Iran has taken the necessary steps to limit their nuclear programme and has put in place the monitoring. The report from the IAEA
08/05/2018
President Donald Trump released an official statement revealing that the United States of America was going to be withdrawing from the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
Glossary JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
Majles Iranian parliament
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Stockpile Stock of goods and metals (in this case plutonium and uranium) stored to be used in the future
Enrichment An increase in the proportion of a particular isotope in an element (specially of the isotope U-235) in order to make it more
powerful or explosive)
Guiding questions ● Can the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action be salvaged?
● Will the European countries’ and Chinese firms and companies suffer from the U.S. sanctions?
● Could Trump’s desire to make a “better deal” be a viable option to make the JCPOA more complete?
● Would Iran be willing to include other matters to the JCPOA, such as their ballistics programme?
● Will other countries suffer from U.S. sanctions in the future?
Bibliography
Davenport, Kelsey. “The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at a Glance.” Arms Control Association , Arms Control Association, 9 May 2018, https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/JCPOA-at-a-glance. “Iran nuclear deal: Key details.” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) , BBC, 8 May 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33521655. “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” U.S. Department of State , https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/iran/jcpoa/. Stocker, Joane. “Despite US Sanctions, Iran Unlikely to Abandon 2015 Nuclear Deal.” The Globe Post , The Globe Post, 21 August 2017, https://theglobepost.com/2017/08/21/iran-nuclear-deal-sanctions/. Landler, Mark. “ Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 8 May 2018,
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/middleeast/trump-iran-nuclear-deal.html. Beauchamp, Zack. “The Iran deal, explained in 9 graphics.” Vox, Vox Media, Inc., 8 May 2018, https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/8/17328858/iran-nuclear-deal-trump-announcement-chart. McKenzie, Sheena. “Iran warns US abandoning nuclear deal would be ‘historic mistake.’” Cable News Network (CNN) , Cable News Network, 7 May 2018, https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/06/politics/iran-warns-us-nuclear-deal-intl/index.html. Kaplow, Larry. “What You Need To Know About The Iran Nuclear Deal.” National Public Radio (NPR), NPR, 7 May 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/07/609150340/trump-to-announce-whether-u-s-will-break-the-iran-nuclear-deal . Reid, David. “Russia Slams US sanctions against Iran, promises to save nuclear deal.” Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), CNBC LLC, 7 August 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/07/russia-slams-us-sanctions-against-iran-promises-to-save-nuclear-deal.html Lo, Kinling. “China backs Iran nuclear deal as United States walks away, but could it be a costly decision?” South China Morning Post , South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd., 10 May 2018, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2145406/china-backs-iran-nuclear-deal-united-states-walks-away .
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Topic B Debating the rise of alt-right movements in Europe and the Americas
Background information The world has witnessed the aggressive re-emergence of the radical right and of right-wing populism in the last two decades. This has renovated the face of politics, especially in Western society. While the less developed countries appear to be abandoning their outdated authoritarian ideals to adopt more liberal ones, more developed communities have begun embracing the very ideology that bloodstained many of their countries' history in the 20th Century. Though very similar in theory, right wing politics take different forms depending on the identity, culture and history of each country: a community with strong ultra nationalistic sentiment and which is largely controlled by the state military would
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differ from one with a more democratic background. Such factors help political scientists predict the impact alt-right movements will have in different environments. However, what all these campaigns have in common are a popular rhetoric against one specific social class, which they claim to be unresponsive to the rest of the people, the propagation of fierce nationalism, and the idea of preserving national sovereignty against any deliberate threat. This third trait is the most controversial, as its loophole permits extremists to pursue racist and xenophobic ideologies. Perhaps the most famous alt-right movement at present is the rise of neo-nazism and neo-fascism in Europe; ever since Nazi boots stomped over Europe with imperialist aims, many ultra conservative factions have exploited weaknesses in their democratic governments and attempted to resurrect the legacy of Nazi Germany. Until the end of the 20th century these radical right movements were powerless. However, the 2007 economic recession caused the European Union to implode: its citizens quickly saw themselves shifting towards the far-right and support for anti-EU and anti-immigrant parties proliferated. Several countries in the Americas are undergoing similar changes. The election of Donald J. Trump in October 2016 followed by that of Jair Bolsonaro last year indicate that the people are looking for candidates with a "firmer grip". In the case of most Latin American countries, right-wing parties gain support due to the popular institutional mistrust, and so their electoral campaigns usually revolve around loosening the state's influence on the economy. Consequently, support for the more radical politicians and their alt-right ambitions grow by the day. This widespread shift to the right proves that the democratic principles with which society has functioned for centuries are now collapsing. But how has history contributed to their downfall?
Europe's Historical Background:
The current situation in Europe is a gloomy echo of the 1930s. In 1929, an economic disaster stroke: the Wall Street Crash gave wake to a historical period known as the Great Depression. Most of the goodwill and optimism at the time came to a dramatic, bitter end as unemployment rose and resources became scarcer. From 1929 to 1932, over 10.83 million Americans had lost their jobs. This fuelled social unrest; people who blamed the government for the recession often found themselves supporting radical politicians, such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini,
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who promised to help if elected. Their electoral campaigns consisted of imperialist and segregation policies: Hitler planned to exterminate those whom he claimed to be "impure Germans" in every province he annexed both before and during World War II while Mussolini constantly used aggression to expand Italy's influence overseas. The crisis also compelled countries to temporarily adopt protectionist policies - aimed to boost demand for goods manufactured in their own countries by keeping out foreign products and increasing tariff/import taxes. This made surviving the recession even tougher as self-sufficiency harmed international relations and prompted massive anti-immigrant sentiment in many European countries. This ultra nationalistic principle is the economic basis to most of the alt-right and neo-fascist European parties' propaganda nowadays, and the economic instability that has loomed for so long over Western and Central European countries was just a catalyst to their resurfacing in modern politics. The end of the Second World War brought about a liberal economic order and laws prohibiting any pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic and homophobic expressions in most European countries. Therefore, those who sympathized or associated with the right-wing were publicly labelled fascists. Then, from the 1950s to the end of the 1980s, a few right-wing populists began surpassing the vote threshold needed to gain seats in the national parliament, but their triumphs were never sustained for multiple terms. However, as the 20th century progressed to its final decade, things became more complicated. The post-war far-right emerged in France in 1972, and the most prominent party at that end of the political spectrum was the National Front (Front National), founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen; the party is characterized by its nationalist, conservative and anti-communist stance. Unsurprisingly, the National Front barely gained any support: before the 1980s, its best election result had been of 1.3%. Still, after so
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much perseverance and a major twist of events, the National Front soon saw itself gaining unprecedented support, achieving 10% of the votes in the 1982 cantonal elections and 11.2% in the 1984 European elections. This triggered a chain reaction across the continent. But what caused so many to rapidly shift their support to parties they once despised? In the case of Europe, there are three main theories that explain this phenomenon: Euroscepticism: Euroscepticism, or the popular discontent with the European Union, has been largely politicized over the last three decades by the far-right and the alt-right. Most of these parties have advocated against deeper integration of their countries in the Union, claiming it would weaken state sovereignty, and have promised "more focused administration in a state level". The Union's main aim has always been to interconnect the economies and politics of European countries as to avoid war at any cost. While EU citizens benefit from many individual freedoms, such as easy travel and high-quality health care, many feel that it is not a permanent or transparent solution to the problems in Europe.
Particularly, one hot and controversial topic for debate among Europeans is the Eurozone. The main problem is that the EU and its poorly designed currency arrangement try to hold together countries with vastly different economies and laws regarding labor, taxes and social security, which is what led to the Euro-crisis and the Greek economic meltdown in 2009. Anti-immigration and the Refugee Crisis of 2015: This is another factor that helped far-right populism germinate in Europe. With the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, more than 13.5 million were displaced. Homeless and in despair, fleeing to Europe seemed the most practical and profitable solution to these refugees. At first, most countries welcomed them with open arms: German Chancellor Angela Merkel was widely criticized after she offered asylum to over 800,000 Syrians and spent over 6 million Euros on the cause. However, following the attacks in Paris (2015) and Brussels (2016), most European leaders became more reluctant in accepting immigrants into their countries; since most of the attackers were alleged Syrian refugees or
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French citizens from Algerian and Yemeni descent, a wave of fear over radical Islam swept the European community. Not only did people become more sceptical about how the EU dealt with the increasing influx of immigrants, but began holding more tightly to the stereotypical and violent image right-wing populists crafted of the Muslim community.
Many believe that immigration has also increased the average unemployment rate in Europe in the recent years. European citizens grieve the thought of paying taxes just so the government can fund the new life of these refugees - for food, money, education and healthcare. As more developed and underpopulated countries approach their threshold population, the quality of public services would, in theory, decrease; therefore, the abyss between social classes would only deepen. Populism in Europe: As aforementioned, discontent with the EU and national politics is proliferating. This growing feeling of doubt and mistrust among the people towards their political systems resulted in a decreasing number of voters in almost every single European country. Consequently, the electoral turnout in the European Parliament elections became very low: in the 2014 elections, only 43% of the voting-eligible population actually voted, which was a 20% markdown from the first Parliamentary Elections in 1979. These concerning statistics instigated far-right and alt-right parties to invest in an alternative propaganda method: populism. Through organizational mediators and direct dialogue, parties learn about the common people's opinions and complaints and adjust their policies to make them more appealing to their target audience.
The number of Europeans voting for extreme-right parties rose from 7% to 25% since the 1990s; this political trend is nourished by Europe's very fertile breeding ground for populism. Members of the alt-right take advantage of the growing discontent with the EU and their countries' economic conditions to criticize other political parties. With right-wing parties giving rise to exclusive ideologies that resonate with an increasing part of the population, such as Islamophobia, they unite a front against a common enemy. By profoundly dedicating most of their electoral campaigns to solving that particular problem and challenging the backward-looking status quo, they provide an innovative and somewhat effective alternative to the people.
The Americas' Historical Background:
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Like Europe, more countries in Latin America are engulfed by right-wing populism every day. So far, the governments of Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the USA have undergone radical parliamentary changes once they elected a right-wing populist as their presidents. The question is, how has history played a role in this? On October 17, 1945, thousands of workers clustered before the Casa Rosada demanding the return of the Argentinean vice-president, Juan Perón, who had been forced to resign only a week earlier. He was a populist politician whose ideology accommodated with the extreme left. Naturally, the crowd was largely comprised of members of the middle and lower social classes - to whom he had dedicated his entire political campaign. Before his election, Perón had pledged protection and prosperity to the common citizen amid a period of major economic instability after the Great Depression (1929). At the time the government "was a conservative and pro-aristocratic coalition… (that) protected the fortunes of the rich but did nothing to alleviate the poor people's suffering." Therefore, by making leftist and some rather unrealistic promises in his campaign Perón safeguarded the vote of over 60% of the population. This wave of left-wing populism soon began propagating violently across borders. Now, after enduring extreme-left, populist parties for almost a century, people trust this political ideology less and blame nationwide institutional problems on their failures. Support is slowly shifting towards the radical right’s rhetoric, which antagonizes the “lazy and jobless” and advocates for a weakly mixed, capitalist economy. With the world becoming more globalized and interconnected by the day, social inequality only increases and the world becomes more competitive. A classless and socialist utopian society is perceived as a distant reality nowadays. What makes Latin America such a unique case is perhaps its fluctuating economic situation. Generally, external shocks have played a key role in keeping the economies of these countries so unstable: because Central and South America rely so heavily on commodity exports, such as oil, coffee, and hematite, they become
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vulnerable to the international fixed market prices. The vague and in some cases unrealistic economic promises made by extreme-right populists is what attracts most of their followers.
Increasing social inequality is also key to explaining the growth of alt-right movements in both Latin America and the United States. It is a consequence of an ineffective and untransparent political system, which is often explored by right-wing populists to ignite hatred and suspicion towards democracy. In most of these countries, improper education and lack of security have been the greatest causes for complaint for many decades.
Public education in Central and South America is deplorable; the average illiteracy rate in that region is of about 12%, according to UNESCO; this goes without mentioning that about 62% of Latin American children do not graduate from high school. These alarming statistics fuel the extreme right’s political campaign by somehow neutralizing their most radical policies and by making themselves more appealing to a greater portion of the population.
Latin America is home to about 8% of the world's population, but almost 40% of its homicide crimes; just Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia account for one quarter of all murders around the globe. Many live in constant danger, but low income families are at a greater disadvantage because they lack the financial means to afford any type of protection. Their vulnerable state makes them easier bait to the radical right's populist propaganda, which approaches the issue of security more rigidly. Past UN actions: Though a contemporary issue of utmost importance in the global agenda, very few UN resolutions tackling the rise of the alt-right have passed. UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, expressed deep concern regarding the situation, and stated that
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the phenomenon of extremism and populism has instigated a "frenzy of growing racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance." The situation in Europe and the US resembles that of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, in which fear, racism and brainwashing are used to help fanatics rise to power. In March 1977, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was ratified. The document emphasizes the idea of political freedom without sparking fear or violence. This is what has placed so many cases of right-wing extremism recently on the map: they use the common people's fears, such as of Immigration, to fuel their political campaigns. In addition, they hypocritically deny people their so promised right of freedom of speech by putting restrictions on media channels. This has been one of the main causes of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar - perhaps the most pressing incident of Ethnic Discrimination this century. This compelled the UN to take a stronger stance against right-wing populism and its ideologies. Therefore, it is in the UN's interest to find solutions through international cooperation and inclusion.
The situation in major countries and blocs: African Union: Alt-right movements haven’t reached their peak in Africa. Still, there are still ultra nationalist and white supremacist political entities towards the southern tip of continent, but which are basically powerless. It is also important to note that the governments of many African countries also use very strict and even inhumane tactics to segregate religious and ethnic minorities; perhaps the most notorious example is Liberia: Liberia’s former dictator, Charles Taylor (1997-2003), was the leader of a rebel extreme-right group known as the National Patriotic Front, and is accused of gross human rights violations, mostly against women. But in regards to the recent upsurge of radical-right populism, only South Africa appears to be facing a bit of trouble. South Africa’s Afriforum pressure group defends the Afrikaners, the closest ethnic group to the leaders of the apartheid movement. They claim to be a “civil rights organization” that protects the legacy of the Afrikaner South African presidents, who ruled uninterrupted from 1948 to 1994 and who institutionalized a brutal system of racial discrimination in the country.
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India: In mid-2014, Mr. Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister of India. He is a prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political movement with neo-nazi and neo-fascist roots. Modi's campaign revolved around demeaning ethnic-religious minorities (mainly Muslim groups) and immigrants; he also constantly criticizes the incredibly affluent and self-satisfied elite - the top 1% of the population that accounts for over 70% of the country's GDP. He was elected by clear majority regardless of his stained political and legal record: he has been accused of overseeing several events of mass murder against minorities and Hindu gang rapes. Modi portrayed himself as an expert and innovator advocating for a more technocratic government; he placed himself middle ground between the common people and the beneficiaries of globalization as to appeal to a larger portion of the population. United States of America: In October 2016 the world witnessed one of the most unpredicted events in the history of politics: Mr. Donald John Trump, a billionaire businessman, became the President of the United States with 56.13% of the electoral votes. His populist, radical-right campaign issued the immigration crisis in the US-Mexican border, wherein he accused Mexican immigrants of drug trafficking and rape crimes; he also imposed a 90-day travel ban on a half-dozen Arab countries, including an indefinite ban of Syrian refugees into America. He packaged himself as the saviour of the common people, who will also single-handedly defeat corruption in Washington. Trump's election gave white nationalists and neo-nazi groups - whom he called "very fine people" - more momentum to propagate their beliefs. In August 2017, alt-right, neo-confederate protesters clashed with counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, after a failed movement they organized called "Unite the Right". The manifestation soon turned deadly and the police desperately began to disperse the crowd; a 23-year-old woman was killed by an alleged fanatic as he ran over her with his car. Trump's popularity slumped dramatically after he failed to act on the issue and to condemn the aggressors.
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France: In late 2017, the two most popular parties in the Fifth French Republic's parliament, the Republicans and the Socialists, were eliminated in the first round of the national elections. The two victorious parties were the centrist and pro-European Union En Marche and the extreme-right, eurosceptic Front National (FN). At the end of the day, the French people elected Mr. Emmanuel Macron, the En Marche candidate and former minister of the economy. What made this a remarkable event in France’s political history, however, was the fact that Mrs Marine Le Pen, the candidate for the FN, received 33.9% of the popular votes; in fact, the party had just conquered 24 out of France's 74 seats in the European Parliament earlier in 2014 - a true record. Le Pen "spoke in the name of the French people", and pledged to protect her beloved country against any foreign threat. Aside from her anti-elitist, homogenous and anti-immigration policies, she promised to entertain an EU referendum if elected and to protect the common citizen against "wild globalization". President Macron recently sought a liberal unity with other European leaders, such as Angela Merkel, against the rising threat the extreme-right poses to their rule. He seeks to tackle this issue multilaterally and hopes his efforts reach way beyond France's borders. United Kingdom: In mid-2016, the UK entertained a EU membership referendum, which passed with 51.6% of the popular votes; this idea was suggested and strongly supported by the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip), an extreme-right political entity. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, argued that this move would help preserve Great Britain’s “self-determination and sovereignty” by not letting the European Union meddle in its state affairs. Another benefit of the ‘Brexit’ political movement was that the UK’s yearly financial contributions to the EU would be spent on national purposes. Farage also caught the attention of the right-wing-oriented portion of the population by relating the uncontrolled influx of EU immigrants in Britain to unemployment in the UK’s less developed counties. Brazil:
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The political situation in Brazil took an interesting turn when the people elected far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, member of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), as president. A retired army captain whose legislative record lacked any significance, Bolsonaro advocates for “corporate interests and against a liberal economic agenda”, which defied the campaign of his rival, Fernando Haddad. Regarding his social policies, Bolsonaro strongly favors gun ownership rights and has a radical and ultra-conservative opinion on moral issues such as LGBT rights, prisoner rights, and abortion. While Bolsonaro’s ideology does not accommodate directly with the alt-right, he has publicly lauded the use of torture during Brazil’s military dictatorship, and has declared that “Lula’s supporters must eat hay.” By positioning himself as anti-socialist, ultranationalist and pro-torture, Bolsonaro attracted alt-right sympathizers, many with neo-nazi ideological beliefs, mostly in Southern Brazil. Russian Federation: Russian President Vladimir Putin has become somewhat of a hero to various alt-right radicals. Mr. Matthew Heimbach, founder of the white supremacist American group called the Traditionalist Worker Party, envisions President Putin as their "ideal ruler" and perceives him as the "leader of the free world". Though not directly related to any alt-right movement, Putin does sympathize with some of their ideologies; in fact, Russia's law banning gay demonstrations has fuelled the campaign of many radical activists worldwide. Before Putin came to power, the Russian Federation was governed by Mr Boris Yeltsin, who was widely criticized for his association with Bill Clinton and the West. The Cold War had just ended and the Soviet Union had collapsed: Yeltsin tried to introduce capitalism in a neglected environment, torn by brutal communism for almost a century. Russia still suffers due to the absence of a historical democratic model, and this is what pushed so many to voting for Vladimir Putin. Ukraine:
The political situation in Ukraine is alarming: President Petro Poroshenko sees himself with disastrously low support as tensions with Russia and inflation rates rise vigorously every day. Instability in the Ukrainian government in addition to the never-ending conflict in Eastern Ukraine gave the alt-right precedent to seek power.
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The National Militia is perhaps the most violent radical-right political
organization in Ukraine; they vow to "use force to establish order" and promise to find a long-lasting, military solution for the Crimean conflict that favours Ukraine. Aside from being anti-Semitic and anti-Russian, they are extremely eurosceptic, and have dedicated most of their political campaigns towards demeaning Mr. Poroshenko's association with NATO and the West. Hungary: Hungary's current Prime Minister, Mr. Viktor Orbán, founder of the Fidesz political movement, metamorphosed from an openly democratic and liberal candidate to a far-right populist. Since he first rose to power in 2010, Orbán has been revolving his populist narrative around anti-elitism, euroscepticism, and anti-immigration After the 2008 economic crisis struck Hungary, Fidesz introduced very strict protectionist policies, such as a dramatic raise in taxes on Hungarian-operating international corporations. As if this monopolistic approach weren't enough, he publicly demonised the EU and immigration, arguing that "Hungary was victimized by foreigners," and attacked national media institutions that criticized his political party. Mr Orbán also sympathizes with re-claiming the provinces Hungary lost under the Treaty of Trianon (post-World War I) and defends neo-fascist and nationalist movements, such as the Arrow Cross Party. He has stated numerous times that his main goal is to "keep Europe Christian." Greece: The alt-right truly blossomed in Europe since the 2015 refugee crisis, but in Greece the most popular alt-right movement, Golden Dawn, seems to be politically isolated. This is partly because Golden Dawn, unlike most far-right populist parties in Europe, hasn’t yet rebranded to a more moderate political alternative: its members publicly defend the Nazism and related ideologies, and deny the use of gas chambers in World War II. Still, statistics reveal that over 8% of public support still lies with Golden Dawn. The reason why neo-fascism persists as a huge threat to national security is almost entirely diplomatic. In addition to the ameliorating Greek debt crisis earlier this decade, the “heated rhetoric” between Greek and Turkish officials and the tense territorial negotiations between Greece and Macedonia justify the recent actions of
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Greece’s usual right-wing supporters. This, of course, came at a time when xenophobia and racism were back on the rise: alt-right supporters taking advantage of Greece’s fragile position to spark such hate crimes. Now, with the Golden Dawn being the third most populous party in the Hellenic Parliament, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos manifested that his sole objective is to “eliminate any political threat to his government…(that) the parliament is no place for (neo-)Nazis.” China: Communist populism dominates Chinese politics. In early 2013, Mr Xi Jinping became the President of the People's Republic of China; his electoral campaign promoted a "China Dream" nationalistic slogan, and revolved around claiming territories, such as Taiwan, Tibet, and the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, through tough diplomacy and a militaristic approach. This proved to be very popular among the Chinese people, and is what has helped Jinping grasp power so tightly for so long. Though alt-right movements are utterly powerless in China, the government's recent actions are seen negatively and as 'Imperialist' by the international community.
Timeline of pertinent events
24/12/1865
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was established by supporters of the American Confederacy. Their aim was to propagate against newly-implemented policies that advocated for the rights of African American people in the USA. They were declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court 1882 years later, but remain active up to this day.
19/08/1934 Adolf Hitler (National Socialist German Workers' Party) becomes the Fuhrer (ruler) of Germany
02/09/1939-30/04/1945
World War II begins after Britain declares war on Hitler, and ends when the Germany surrenders to the Soviet Union. In the interwar period, 6 million Jews, 10,000 homossexuals and 200,000 physically or mentally impaired were murdered cruelly and methodically at Nazi concentration camps across Europe.
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15/09/1963 Members of the KKK bombarded the African American 16th Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The death toll was of 4 people.
1990s The influx of African and Asian asylum seekers in Germany invokes xenophobia and islamophobia among the people, especially in Eastern Germany, which was communist at the time.
03/09/1993 Nigel Farage and Alan Sked founded The UK Independence party.
30/10/1994 Brazil's right-wing Social Liberal party is founded.
2002 For the first time ever, the candidate of the extreme-right Front National (Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen), is elected to the second round.
2004
Former US president George W. Bush, member of the Republic party, wins the presidential election. His campaign focused on restricting gay marriage rights, which was a very controversial yet popular belief at the time.
2008 The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression struck the US and Europe, catalysing the rise of the far-right and of alt-right movements.
March 2015 For the first time, Europe receives tens of thousands of refugees by ship.
June 2015 Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign.
October 2015 Argentina elects far-right candidate Mauricio Macri for the presidency, deposing former left-wing president Cristina Kirchner.
2016 Austria's FPO candidate, Mr. Norbert Hofert, ends up with 35.3% of the popular votes in the 1st round of the Austrian Presidential elections.
23/06/2016 The date in which Brexit's "Leave" campaign received 51.6% of the votes. The UK is scheduled to officially divorce the European Union in March 2019.
January 2017 Trump officially imposes a travel ban against Syrian refugees and 7 Arab nations.
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12/08/2017 Charlottesville's 'Unite the Right' rally.
18/04/2018-20/06/2018
Trump declares "zero-tolerance' for migrants who cross the US-Mexican border illegally. Over 2000 children were separated from their families.
October 2018 Jair Bolsonaro becomes President of Brazil after winning 55.7% of the votes.
Glossary Conservatism Conservatism preserves the cultural identity and traditions of a country by valuing what was historically inherited. This ideology lies within right wing of the political spectrum.
The Alt-right: An alternative ideology to Conservationism. Members of alt-right movements embrace conservatism as to justify their controversial beliefs; a common example would be neo-Nazis: their doctrine perceives Hitler's Nazi party positively.
Populism A political strategy that champions the common person, uniting them against a designated enemy. It may be employed both by the right-wing, against the very idea of socialism, or by the left-wing to oppose privatization, for example.
Communism Communism is the political ideology on the extreme left of the political spectrum; it defends a classless society, in which all property is publicly shared, and which gives the people control over the means of production. It demonizes a profit-based economic system.
Fascism Over the years, political parties have created several branches to the fascist political ideology. However, its distinct traits are extreme nationalism, the strong/utter involvement of the military in state affairs, the belief that society should
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function on the basis of meritocracy - and therefore the creation of an 'elite.' Fascism is at the extreme right end of the political spectrum.
Liberalism Liberalism is a doctrine with the goal of granting every individual freedom and prioritizing the welfare of the common people
Xenophobia Xenophobia is the exact opposite of cultural pluralism: it is the fear of people coming from different countries - foreigners.
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of those who follow the Islam religion.
Nazism Nazism was a movement created by Adolf Hitler that embodied a totalitarian rule and ultra nationalism. It aspired to eliminate any threat to Germany's Aryan race.
Propaganda Up to this day, propaganda is perceived as a weapon to brainwash and manipulate the beliefs of others. It can reach the public through media sources, word of mouth, artwork and even clothing.
Nationalism Nationalism is a strong sentiment of pride towards one's ethnicity or country. ultra nationalists will target the public by suggesting that patriotism trumps any other individual interest.
State sovereignty The ideal that a state or country's territory lies completely under the control of its citizens and its government.
Guiding questions ● To what extent do alt-right parties pose a threat to national security?
● Is ostracism (the complete exclusion of alt-right political parties) the most effective way to deal with this issue? If so, how many this be achieved?
● Is creating political coalitions a plausible solution? Or would it only draw more support to more radical, populist parties?
● Are there any one-size-fits-all solutions to tackle social inequality and corruption worldwide?
● What measures would ensure the sustainable management of immigration in Europe?
● Can terrorism/religious extremism be tackled through domestic and international legislations?
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● What is it that makes the European Union so unpopular? Can this be solved?
Bibliography European Commission secretariat, “Europeans, the European Union and the Crisis.” http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/eb/eb81/eb81_cri_en.pdf
Wolfenden, Katherine. “Perón and the People: Democracy and Authoritarianism in Juan Perón's Argentina.” Inquiries Journal, Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse., 2013 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/728/peron-and-the-people-democracy-and-authoritarianism-in-juan-perons-argentina
Encarnación, Omar. “The Rise and Fall of the Latin American Left”, The Nation, The Nation, May 9, 2008 https://www.thenation.com/article/the-ebb-and-flow-of-latin-americas-pink-tide/
Ngyugen, V; Warner, L. “Timeline: 100 Years of Far-Right Extremism in Europe and the U.S.”, Politics of Hate, Link TV, August 13 2018 https://www.linktv.org/shows/politics-of-hate/timeline-100-years-of-far-right-extremism-in-europe-and-the-us
Editor for BBC, “Europe and nationalism: A country-by-country guide”, BBC Politcs, BBC NEWS, September 10 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36130006
Verhofstadt, G., “Europe must fight the alt-right with more democracy, not less”, Project Syndicate: Opiniom, Market Watch, December 13, 2018 https://www.google.com.br/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/5123324C-FE38-11E8-9047-4C0BEE5BDB6E
Abbot, D., “Bolsonaro and the rise of the far right”, The Guardian Politics, The Guardian, November 1, 2018 https://www.google.com.br/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-and-the-rise-of-the-far-right
Daniels, J., “The algorithmic rise of the “alt-right”, Contexts (org.), March 28, 2018, https://contexts.org/articles/the-algorithmic-rise-of-the-alt-right/
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Topic C The fiscalization and regulation of state surveillance through international law
Background information
Espionage and surveillance, businesses as old as the Elizabethan reign; an
affair that has been continuously gaining increasing relevance in the geopolitical
game. In the twenty first century knowledge and information mean power and
influence to the point that our current economic system is being labeled
‘informational capitalism’. Throughout the cold war the methods of information
retrieval have grown more sophisticated, taking full use of the technological growth
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occurring alongside it. Nowadays an agency can gather more data by simply
monitoring an individual’s phone than it ever would by pinning a private investigator
to him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Yet unlike private surveillance, which is near-universally disliked, state
surveillance is a controversial topic and rises questions regarding the integrity of our
institutions, the extent of human privacy, its price, and how potent these tools of
surveillance can be if used by the wrong individuals and organizations. Surveillance
is a factor deeply rooted in most governments of the world and is one of the most
pressing and terrifying issues of the millennium.
Nations all around the world find themselves in a paradox: no politician
wishes to publicly disown counter-terror measures such as state surveillance due to
the risk of facing the repercussions if a terror attack does happen. Because of that it
has been difficult for public figures and nations to firmly align themselves with a
certain opinion.
However, state surveillance is not always used to the supposedly benefic
goal of ensuring the safety of the state’s citizens. Autocratic and ‘democratic’
governments alike use these apparatus for national gain. This is exemplified by the
use of mass surveillance in China in order tame a theoretical Uyghur uprising, and in
the United States when the CIA blatantly and illegally kept tabs on the doings of the
senate committee supposed to fizcalyse the very CIA. This abuse of power by
intelligence agencies, although putting in risk the very concept of democracy rarely
goes truly supervised much less punished.
Concept of Privacy and Individuality
State surveillance was birthed alongside the first civilizations. Ever since
Homo Sapiens created fictitious entities such as Nations, the idea that an ulterior
overlapping force was always watching over the individual was as common as it
was useful since the very threat of surveillance was as advantageous as the
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surveillance itself, much like many robberies are thwarted before they are even
committed because of the utilization of cameras. Because of all these looming
fictional eyes individuality was a strange concept to even fathom in ancient times.
It was only with the dawning of the modern world that the concept of privacy
and individualism came into place. In premodern times family and one’s local clan
meant everything, these communities and it's elders held a greater power of
governance over individual subjects than even monarchs themselves; a son was
merely an extension of his family, bound to obey their will above his own. As
technology progressed individuals became more and more independent from these
familial structures and clans as the state took a more center stage in people’s lives.
So the nation could permanently usurp the place of familial clans as the centermost
figure in the development of its citizen it, alongside with other institutions,
introduced the idea of the individual, hence a person was an individual human to
follow his own “Self”, not an extension of its family. This was done with the purpose
to make their populations into more productive and loyal members of an
increasingly sophisticated and all-encompassing society, this was especially the
case with the dawn of globalism and other international phenomena, all of which
made the world ever-smaller. As some sociologists, in particular notable author
Yuval Harari pointed out we can clearly see this shift between family and
individualism in the artistic sector. Before the contemporary age painting always
showed the grander picture, such as a general in a messianic position overseeing
the battle, but as the ideal of individualism set its roots in Europe and soon after
most of the world the reality of each individual soldier was taken into account, the
individual, one’s private “self” is king. When we are in doubt the advice seldom given
to us is not to follow what your family or your clan has to say about it, but to “follow
our hearts”.
Understanding the concept of individualism is important because it
dominates the ethical and philosophical sections on the debate over state
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surveillance, afterall why is privacy so important? If one has nothing to hide it has
nothing to fear. In our society the individual is sacred because it is formed by his
irreplicable experiences, many of them private. When an individual’s life is an open
book his experiences are exposed and his “individual self” is no longer his own, this
is why many subconsciously value their privacy, they are safeguarding their “self”.
Obviously this concept is seen differently by nations with distinct cultural
backgrounds. There are societies in which the notion of scavenging through their
citizens’ personal information is a front to everything they believe in, and revelations
of espionage through even their lightest personal matters lits disgust and
reprimand from its citizens, and there are also cultures who believe that the state
should have all the authority in order to keep its citizens safe; both from physical
threats and ideological threats.
The rise of the Surveillance state
There are two categories in which we can measure the speeding of
governmental surveillance: the geopolitical and the technological. On the first
category there are two principal stages: before and after 9/11. The terrorist attack on
the world Trade center in the beginning of the second millennium changed global
politics and human culture itself in fundamental ways to the point that sociologists
see it as the beginning of a new-world
order; before, superpowers battled for
global hegemony, now the principal
public enemy of the current world
powerhouses are the enigmatic and
infiltrative “terrorist ”, and because of
their mingling in large populations the
capability to survey ever-larger
samples of denizens was needed.
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The surveillance state sustains itself on the fears and paranoia of its citizens,
without a fire there is no need for an extinguisher, hence why it took one of the
greatest terrorist attacks in history for intelligence agencies to step up their games.
Furthermore the invasion of Afghanistan and the second gulf war, which were
followed by the American occupation of both countries, created an even greater
need for the surveillance of the unsatisfied populations, since the West saw both
Nations as threats to their national security. Tracking technologies entered the
scenes at this time, and the NSA, CIA and other intelligent services faced a golden
age. Initially these technologies were designed for and used in conflict-inflicted
areas, but as the NSA consultant Edward Snowden would say: “These technologies
tend to go from warfront to Homefront.”
Most nations were equally aghast by the recent surge in terrorism, and many
took similar precautions, although not in the same scale as the American NSA, all to
some degree or another began taking more invasive action to ensure public
security. These events were kicked off by a desperate universal need to feel safe.
This objective was used to justify multiple atrocities, not just privacy violations, but
unwarranted arrests and unlawful torture. The surveillance lobbying was also crucial
on this state, companies who profited billions wanted to ensure their gains by
maintaining this state of fear, hence there were also heavy financial reasonings,
even though technically these measures did very little to stop actual terrorist
attacks.
Yet the true marking point which separated the previous methods of
espionage from the outright dystopic ones was the widespread utilization of the
Smartphone by civilians. These new devices contained a buffet of utensils ready to
be hacked and used by any capable intelligence agency or any expert individual or
company: Microphones, GPS’, cameras, processing power, etc. As the smartphone
became a must-have item for many across the world it became an utter mirror of an
individual’s psyche, what they were thinking could extrapolated from their search
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histories, what they are doing from their phones, who they talked to, where they are,
how long they stayed there, even more.
The widespread use of other technology such as facial recognition and
surveillance algorithms also played an immense part, now citizens could be easily
located and apprehended in a matter of minutes, and algorithms ran by Artificial
Intelligences, investigate millions to billions of individuals simultaneously,
scavenging their personal lives in order to determine their threat level. It appears we
are monitored every point of our lives. The people were unaware how powerless
they were in this new technocracy.
The Snowden leaks
In the 6st of June, 2013 the world and most of its
nation-states shook as Edward Snowden confirmed the
fears of many to the world: someone was indeed
listening. The ex-systems analyst for the NSA had been
working with the American agency for quite some time,
but according to himself found moral objections to that
arrangement. This lead him to desert and expose in
great detail the sheer extent of the NSA’s surveillance
over not only millions of innocent foreign civilians, but
Americans and supposedly allied nations’ citizens as
well. Some of these revelations were but are certainly
not limited to:
1. The NSA, through near-phony court orders was able to attain any information on
American and non-American phone records without the individual’s knowledge.
2. The revelation of the PRISM program, which compelled tech companies to
hand out the information on their users.
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3. British Intelligence intercepted optical fiber cables all over the world essentially
stealing foreign data.
4. The NSA spied on global leaders of multiple countries, including allied ones.
5. The XKeystone program, which the NSA uses to find nearly anything a user
does on the internet.
The second it all came out Edward Snowden was on the run, and without a lot
of places to go he hid in Hong Kong among the families of fellow refugees who
sheltered him for nearly a month as the United States used up every single one of
its resources in a global manhunt for the man who had exposed such sensitive
information. Snowden essentially disappeared during this time, only to re-emerge in
a plane for Moscow, but according to himself:
“I never intended to end up in Russia, much less choose it,” he said. “When my
government learned I had departed Hong Kong en route to Latin America, they
cancelled my passport trapping me in a Russian airport. Unable to travel and unable to
leave, I filed applications for asylum in 21 countries around the world, places like
France, and Germany, Austria and Finland. But those countries neither accepted my
respective requests nor permitted safe travel onwards.” (Edward Snowden)
In time Snowden did get official Asylum in Russia, his escape complete and his job
done the rest of the world was left to pick up the pieces.
Nations, both allied or not were outraged by the American invasiveness, parliaments
demanded reassurances and compensations, but although the screams were loud
and the crimes severe, besides some firing due to incompetence on the Snowden
case, not much was actually done to rectify the situation, in fact, ever since
Snowden made public how efficient the NSA’s system was multiple nations began
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investing even more in Surveillance, both for their own gain and to protect
themselves from each other.
Timeline of pertinent events
1086
The Domesday surveys are taken it is the most intrusive act of government seen. Taking place in 11th century Britain, King William I, wishing to attain a firmer grasp over the taxes that were supposedly owed to him asked for every piece of land and domesticated beast to be accounted for. The title domesday refers to doomsday, usually this was perpetrated by local communities instead of the state.
1580
Sir Francis Walsingham used a wide net of espionage to keep close tabs on the events both within Britain and outside it. Techniques such as the hijacking of correspondence and cataloguing of potentially dangerous individuals started here. Sir Francis is considered the father of modern espionage.
1778 Under orders from George Washington the first spy networks are founded in America, being utilized both to check on enemies and allies alike and take the necessary countermeasures.
14/July/1789
The declaration of the rights of man and citizen give unprecedented personal liberties to the people of France, including privacy, freedom of expression and the liberty to do anything that does not conflict with the law or harm others.
5/Sep/1793 The event known as the french reign of terror begins. State surveillance reaches an unprecedented height and execution via Guillotine becomes popular.
12/Oct/1844
Times news paper declares that with the strengthening of the state surveillance: “The secrets of no family, of no individual, can be guaranteed from reaching the ear of a cabinet minister.”
October/1909
The MI 5 is formed, specialising in combating internal threats with authorisation to bug phones, raid houses and detain individuals without due legal procedure. It became even more prominent throughout the the Great War, when the expression of pacifist views could land a citizen in one of their lists.
10/July/1934
The NKVD, forerunner of the KGB is formed in Russia. It's purpose to investigate the internal affairs of soviet citizens. All forms of private intrusion were utilised. Alongside with the Gestapo it became known as one of the first truly modern secret policies.
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4/November/1952
The NSA is formed as a branch of the also newborn CIA with the purposes of monitoring enemy communications.
1990’s The Internet becomes widely used as a communications network, substituting many of the preexisting ones. This is free real estate to multiple intelligence agencies.
6/June/2013 Edward Snowden exposes the NSA scheme in which millions of individuals were surveilled without their authorisation or court orders.
11/June/2015
Tech companies invest on more sophisticated encryption services in order to further protect their users from governmental spionage, although this appears to be futile as intelligence agencies continue to use personal data harnessed by these companies.
4/June/2018 Edward Snowden states that all the problems revealed are still unchanged, and that “The People are still powerless, but now they are aware.”
Glossary Algorithms A process or specific set of rules to be perpetrated through calculations by a computing entity. It can be used to process insurmountable amounts of data and utilize it in seconds.
NSA The National Security Agency is the American intelligence branch tasked with the gathering and guardianship of information. It is a key player on the global theater due to it's incredible influence, power and lack of concern to the privacy of citizens, american or otherwise.
State surveillance The monitoring of a population by a public or public-working entity with varying intents and methods.
Edward Snowden The whistleblower of the NSA’s and complicit organization’s illicit espionage both domestically and abroad. He has been charged with treason by multiple countries, becoming an extremely controversial figure.
IMSI Catcher A device that intercepts phone signals, hijacking the targets device and spying on it. It is relatively light, mobile and easily obtainable by non governmental agencies. In surveillance states most police cars are equipped with one.
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Metadata The data that describes other data. It is an abridged version of data, delineating its properties such as the personal information of its owner.
PRISM Program through which Governmental agencies could demand access to private server’s content and metadata.
XKeystone Program of constant internet vigilance via algorithm.
Bloc Positions United States
As has been repeatedly reiterated throughout the topic guide: although much of the reputation and trustworthiness of American intelligence services, in particular the NSA, has been thwarted by countless leaks, especially those revealed by Edward Snowden in the 2013 scandal, nothing has really changed. The NSA and similar organizations continue to perpetrate breach after breach over the privacy over the American public, and it's directors have been publicly confirmed to constantly lie in trials and senate hearings without consequences. The CIA came to the point of spying on the committee supposed to oversee it.
The American government in its current administration sees Edward Snowden and any and all whistleblowers as traitors to the American nation, and government officials appear to deny the scale of the problem, stating that there is no spying on American citizens. The United States is still in a posture of perpetual paranoia ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and this psyche is the major reason why it's citizens endure these abuses.
President Donald Trump, when questioning regarding the NSA’s mass collection of phone records from citizens from all around the world, including americans, he stated: “I support legislation which allows the NSA to hold the metadata.”
China
According to most China exists in a state of total and permanent surveillance “to ensure the protection of its citizens” this protection is interpreted by most to be both against terrorist attacks and etc, and ideological threats. Just like many other countries China utilises algorithms to monitor and survey it's citizens; individuals have reported receiving calls from the governmental secretariat or visits from the police upon criticising the government.
Aside from the omnipresent appearance of facial recognition-equipped cameras, checkpoints and more simplistic methods of surveillance, China is also very
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interested in expanding it's policing grid, particularly in its outermost regions, such as points inhabited by Uyghur people, whom have been stirring rebelion.
Although China demonises the audacity of other countries for spying on foreign citizens it reserves the right to do so to its own people and most likely people from other nations. Although ethically dubious this is an incredibly common political position across the world; exemplified on how China continues to use total surveillance tactics yet permitted whistleblower Edward Snowden to flee to Russia.
United Kingdom
The united Kingdom and London are sequentially the most monitored nation and capital in the world. Cameras are everywhere, both in big and small cities, along with drones, spies, IMSI catchers, and everything in between. Police officers all cary some hacking equipment in order to combat and spy, and a simple survey found out a surprising percentage of the population have the capability and the resources to keep top government officials in a state of surveillance.
Another problem the United Kingdom faces is how it outsources much of its equipment, meaning the NSA is the co-author of much of their vigilance. The European council on Human rights has also continuously ruled against the United Kingdom, accusing them of multiple privacy violations, including intercepting communications from NGO’s such as Amnesty International. British intelligence organizations have also been accused with similar violations as the USA in the Snowden leaks.
The United Kingdom is also paranoid regarding terrorism, particularly with the heavy immigration to the country, hence passing legislation that contributes to the State surveillance, such as in 2014, when an emergency bill was ratified which mandated private firms to hand over their clients information to surveillance services.
European Union
The European parliament and many of its member states are key players on the battle again massive State surveillance, this was primarily catalyzed by the Snowden leaks, which showed Europe how exposed they were. This culminated in the European council urging all member states to drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden.
The leaks and the continue abuses of the NSA have also created a sizeable schism between Europe and the United States on the matter of surveillance, breaking a long-standing trust. The council also demanded assurance from the NSA that the civil liberties of European citizens were being safeguarded.
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Brazil
Brazil saw itself returned to its old puppet state status when it was discovered that multiple integrants of the old government were being spied on by foreign organizations. The reports go so far to to question if Brazil was going to be a problem, and if so hypothesized how to rectify it. These baffling reports were the cause for great stirr, and provoked a schism between Brazil and some Western nations, principally the United States.
However, in a turn of events the the current Brazilian administration seems to be doing everything in their power to appease the United States despite its unlawful intrusions on their internal affairs.
Japan
Japan has found itself in a slippery slope ever since the Snowden documents were released. It was one of the cybernetically invaded nations and had their citizens private information created and utilised by foreign intelligence agencies much like hundreds of other countries, but Japan, although obviously demonstrating reprimand continued to follow on the tendency of mass surveillance.
ALthough governmental authorities refuse to use such terms Japan has a policing infrastructure and telecommunications grid to rival England on the surveillance of its citizens, all that is needed is for the right policies to be implemented. And with the passing of the Conspiracy Bill in 2017 it appears that Japan is giving way for the usage of more invasive action on its citizens.
Guiding questions ● Is Security more important than privacy?
● How can my country continue its operations whilst hindering foreign intelligence organizations?
● Should individuals who leak unfair governmental practices such as Snowden be claimed as heroes or villains?
● Should there be any consequences for nations or organizations who have been found out to be violating privacy of it's and other nation's citizens?
● What role do private organizations and corporations, particularly tech companies, play in the surveillance of individuals?
● What is my nations policy, culture and history on personal liberties and privacy?
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MacAskill, Ewen, and Alex Hern. “Edward Snowden: 'The People Are Still Powerless, but Now They're Aware'.” The Guardian , Guardian News and Media, 4 June 2018, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/04/edward-snowden-people-still-powerless-but-aware.
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Further Research Chinoy, Sahil, and Gladstone, Rick. “What Changes and What Remains in the Iran
Nuclear Deal.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 8 May 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/07/world/middleeast/iran-deal-before-after.html.
Einhorn, Robert. “Debating the Iran nuclear deal: A former American negotiator outlines the battleground issues” Brookings, The Brookings Institution, 12 August 2015, https://www.brookings.edu/research/debating-the-iran-nuclear-deal-a-former-american-negotiator-outlines-the-battleground-issues/ .
“Iran Nuclear Deal.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited, https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-nuclear-deal .
Immenkamp, Beatrice “The Future of the Iran nuclear deal: How much can US pressure isolate Iran?” European Parliament Think Tank, 25 May 2018, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2018)621897# .
Ngyugen, V; Warner, L. “Timeline: 100 Years of Far-Right Extremism in Europe and the U.S.”, Politics of Hate, Link TV, August 13 2018 https://www.linktv.org/shows/politics-of-hate/timeline-100-years-of-far-right-extremism-in-europe-and-the-us
Abbot, D., “Bolsonaro and the rise of the far right”, The Guardian Politics, The Guardian, November 1, 2018 https://www.google.com.br/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-and-the-rise-of-the-far-right
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Editor for BBC, “Europe and nationalism: A country-by-country guide”, BBC Politcs, BBC NEWS, September 10 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36130006
“Edward Snowden: Leaks That Exposed US Spy Programme.” BBC News, BBC, 17 Jan. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964 .
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Mass Surveillance: EU Citizens' Rights Still in Danger, Says Parliament .” Chernobyl 30 Years on: Environmental and Health Effects - Think Tank, 29 Oct. 2015, www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20151022IPR98818/mass-surveillance-eu-citizens-rights-still-in-danger-says-parliament .
“Timeline of NSA Domestic Spying 1791-2015.” Electronic Frontier Foundation, 29 Sept. 2017, www.eff.org/nsa-spying/timeline.
snos, Evan. “Why China Let Snowden Go.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 6 July 2017, www.newyorker.com/news/evan-osnos/why-china-let-snowden-go.
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