Exploring Enforcement Measures Imposed for International Peace and Security (Professor HONDA Miki, Department of Global Political Science, Faculty of Law)

Exploring Enforcement Measures for Peace in the Face of Many Dilemmas

His area of specialization is international relations, and his research focuses on "coercive measures for peace in the international community. For many years, his focus has been on the actions of the United Nations (UN), particularly the economic sanctions of the Security Council (Trustee).

The UN Security Council is responsible for maintaining peace and security in the international community. The five permanent members (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China) and ten non-permanent members elected by region discuss and decide what interventions to make in countries in conflict. Resolutions other than procedural matters require the approval of all five permanent Trustee members, and cannot be passed if any of them oppose the resolution. As a result, enforcement measures by the Security Council cannot be implemented. A prominent example would be the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. Due to Russia's veto, not even a resolution condemning Russia could be adopted.

Major countries and companies in each country have decided to impose economic sanctions and other measures to stop the civil war and aggression, but the dilemma is that the aftermath threatens the peaceful lives of the citizens involved.

World peace is based on relationships among nations that strategically bargain to protect their own national interests. Based on this premise, how much can coercive measures from outside contribute to the restoration or maintenance of peace? Seeking an answer to this question is a current concern. In a complex and entangled international community, the answer will not be easily found. I would like to continue to explore whether there are any measures that can lead to even a slightly better outcome.

• A scene of a resolution of the United Nations Security Council, which is a highly political forum where each country pursues its own national interests while discussing international peace (ⒸUN Photo/Loey Felipe)

I would like to take on the challenge of visualizing data showing the effects of economic sanctions.

Before becoming a researcher, I was a reporter for the English-language newspaper The Japan Times. The turning point for me was the Gulf War that started with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. It was an event that had a major impact on countries around the world, including the call for Japan to cooperate in peace operations, and highlighted the importance of the role played by the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security. Witnessing this historic event made me think about how security and the order of the international community should be, and I decided to study international relations at graduate school. I had planned to return to work as a journalist after completing my studies, but my curiosity for learning was insatiable, and I decided to pursue a career as a researcher.

When considering the security of the international community, the "effects of economic sanctions" are difficult to judge. Since the goal is to demoralize and defuse conflicts, it is undesirable to stimulate rebelliousness by pushing a country to the brink with severe sanctions. Conversely, interventions that have little impact do not constitute sanctions.

In order to accurately judge the effectiveness of economic sanctions, it is important to quantify and visualize data to show what kind of measures have produced what kind of effects. For this reason, I feel the need to upgrade my research by incorporating knowledge in the area of data science and an interdisciplinary perspective in the future.

Fortunately, Hosei, as a university, provides opportunities for cooperation from researchers in other fields and an environment that encourages free research. I would like to take advantage of these resources to strengthen and develop our research capabilities while expanding our network and research areas.

• A photo taken when discussing security in Northeast Asia and the UN's response with East Asian researchers (at a symposium held in 2009).

Wants to develop sensitivity to what is happening in the international community

We hope that our students will gain a variety of hands-on experiences. This is because the same scenery can leave a very different impression on the mind when viewed through the screen of a smartphone versus when experienced firsthand in the field. It is very unfortunate that travel was restricted for several years due to the Corona disaster.

However, there are things that can be done even in the age of With Corona. First of all, please broaden your antennae of interest and look at various things. Although there are still restrictions on activities due to infection control measures, I recommend that you go outside and try new experiences if you can. Each experience will be the seed of "Practical wisdom" that will enhance your human power.

The international community is not created by adults with political power. Each of us is a responsible stakeholder in the international community. It is my hope that students will acquire the sensitivity to see what is happening in the world as a problem that is relevant to them, rather than as something that is happening to someone else.

Once you become aware of the existence of a problem, you will want to think about what needs to be done to solve it or gain the wisdom and intelligence to make even the slightest change. Believing that this ambition will nurture the future, I would like to continue to be there for each student and encourage them.

• The seminar for the class of 2022 is a group research project under the theme of "Threats of Global Issues: Questioning Contemporary Multilateralism.

(First published in the November/December 2022 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)