MI History Promotional Examination 2008

Promotional Examinations 2008 Pre-university 2 INTERNATIONAL HISTORY, 1945-2000 PAPER 1 8814/1 Wednesday 10 September 2008 3 hours Additional materials: Answer paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, class and admission number in the spaces at the top of this page and on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Section A Answer Question 1 Section B Answer three questions from this section. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. All questions in this paper carry equal marks. __________________________________________________________________________________ This question paper consists of 4 printed pages.

__________________________________________________________________________________ This question paper consists of 4 printed pages. SECTION A: THE UNITED NATIONS AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS, 1945-2000 You must answer Question 1 THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ) Source A Reading the decision with grave deliberation to a packed courtroom in the Palace of Peace, the president of the court, T. O. Elias, said the judges had voted unanimously to call on the United States to stop immediately any involve ment in the mining of Nicaraguan ports… The second part of the ruling, contending that Ni caragua's sovereignty and political independence "should be fully respected and should not in any way be jeopardized by any military and paramilitary activities which are prohibited by the principles of international law," was approved by 14 votes to one. If the administration ultimately refuses to abide by the final decision, the United States would join Iceland, Iran and Albania as the only countries to defy the World Court in the 42 rulings that it has handed down during the past four decades. Extract from Washington Post, 11 May 1984. Source B The World Court, as the ICJ is called, has never played a major role in peaceful dispute resolution. It is seldom used by sovereign st ates, and the U. S. is no exception. Since our formal but qualified recognition of the court's compulsory ju risdiction in 1946, we have gone to the World Court in only a handful of cases. Our application to the court during the Iran hostage crisis was the first U.S. appearance there in 35 years. Our refusal to recognize completely the World Court's compulsory jurisdiction hardly constitutes a major threat to th e concept of peace through intern ational law, assuming that in an age of political violence and state-sponsored terrorism such a concept still even exists. We simply join a host of countries who hold to th e view that the only disputes the World Court should, or adequately could, decide are those which both disputing parties are willing to place before it. John C. Dupree, a graduate in international affairs from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, writing for an American newspaper, 22 October 1985. Source C Up to the present time the International Court of Justice has been by far the least active part of the United Nations Orga nization. One case decided and two advisory opinions given during a life of four years is certainly a mi nimum of activity. At the same time, as the experience of the United States Supreme Court shows, it may take many years for sovereign governments to develop trust in a court which is new to them and whose adverse decisions may hurt them politically. Only parties to an is sue who think their case is likely to win will place themselves voluntarily and gladly under the jurisdiction of the Court. Extract from “The United Nations in Action”, 1950.

__________________________________________________________________________________ This question paper consists of 4 printed pages. Source D Unfortunately, in today’s world, even the peaceful settlement of disputes is often the province of a diplomacy determined more by self-inter est than by the requirements of the common good of the international community – a common good based on what is right and just. This in fact can have an inhibiting influence on the work of both the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration… it is cl ear that the contributions of the International Court of Justice to the development of new norms of international law will be impeded as long as the States do not agree on the funda mental principles and general rules of international law. It is necessary to recall, in this regard, that, while progress has been made over the years, it has been limited. Extract from the welcoming speech by the President of the Court during the visit to ICJ by Pope John Paul II, September 1985. Source E Today, 191 States are parties to the Court’s Statute and 67 of them have accepted its compulsory jurisdiction. In addition, approximately 300 treaties make reference to the Court in respect of the settlement of disputes arising from their application or interpretation. On the sixtieth anniversary of the International Cour t of Justice, the popularity of the Court as a dispute resolution mechanism continues to grow. The past decade has seen an exceptional number of new and important cases being submitted to the Court. Never before in the history of the international community have States so clearly affirmed their preference for achieving the peaceful settlement of their disputes on the basis of internat ional law. Let me highlight in this respect certain distingui shing features that enable the Court to make a unique contribution to the peaceful resolution of intern ational disputes: the Court has the advantage that its Statute provides for a worldwide system. The list of cases in recent years illustrates the Court’s universality, with States from all continents of the world appearing before it… the Court is the only international judicial body to possess general ju risdiction, which enables it to deal with any issue relating to international law and to take into account developments in international law across the entire spectrum of international relations. Extract from an address by the president of ICJ, on the occasion of the presentation of the Franciso de Vitoria medal to the ICJ for protecting democratic values, human rights and having worked for peace and understanding within the international community, 2006. How far do Sources A-E support the view that ‘the lack of compulsory jurisdiction proved to be the main stumbling block to the effectiveness of the ICJ in upholding international law’?

__________________________________________________________________________________ This question paper consists of 4 printed pages. SECTION B You must answer three questions from this section. 2. Why did the US policy of cooperation with the USSR become one of confrontation after the Second World War? 3. “Even though the Cold War expanded beyond Europe in the 1950s, Europe remained the core area of conflict between USSR and USA.” How far do you agree with this statement? 4. To what extent was the Japanese state, in the form of MITI, the key element in the rise of the Japanese economy in the period 1950-1990? 5. To what extent was the June 1967 War the turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict? 6. Which did more in the rise of religious fundamentalism: Modernization, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 or US support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict?