European Union and United Nations Essay

United Nations and European Union are two organizations which are very influential in the contemporary world. The two institutions play a very great role as far as implementation of rules and policy of different nature are concerned. Each body is charged with specific roles to play in the pursuit of various objectives for the member states. United Nation draws its membership from across the board,almost all countries in the world are members of this organization which was mainly created to promote peace among the nations. European Union on the other hand draws its membership from the heart of Europe,where most of the European nations are represented. The two organizations are charged with the role of implementing policies put forward or agreed upon by the member states. Each body has a mechanism which ensures that these policies and rules are followed by the members. They have powers to compel members to adhere to the laid down rules. United Nation relies on the powers granted by its guiding rules to implement the policies while European union largely depends on the constitution drawn by member states spelling out procedures to be followed by the members as far as implementation of policies is concerned. (Blacksell, M 1978) One of the main differences between the two bodies is the composition,European Union membership is drawn from nations which have a common interest and are pursuing the same goals mostly on economic intergration,whereas United Nation is a conglomeration of states brought together by the purpose of promoting peace in the world. United nation membership is far and wide due to the reason that a country is member of the larger world community. Members have serious conflicting interests making it hard at times to reach a compromise in certain occassions. On the other hand European Union is more of a voluntary organizations where members join as a result of the benefits they are going to derive from such a union (Emadi, B 2002). They are not propelled by other reason such as fear of being labelled uncoperative but rather for the benefit of creating a wider markets and opening up their economies. The European Union is a powerful entity which is rather an economic organization as opposed to United Nation which more of a political institution. The main objective of the European Union was to allow free movements of goods and capital across the borders where for the United Nation it was to prevent another major war in the world or mainly prevent conflict between nations among other things that go along with the maintenance of peace in the world. In such an arrangement members are not bound together by a common goal but rather as mere formality because they would like to be seen as countries which believe in a peaceful coexistence among nations. For those in the European Union it is more than maintenance of peace. They are bound together by the principles of creating a good enviroment for their economic advancement. (Bedjaou, M 1991) (Lister, F 1996) As an international organization,United nation has been facing problems as far as enforcement of the policies and rules is concerned. At times this has resulted to very serious consequences especially when members fail to abide by the rules set by the otganization. One of the main problem that has engulfed this institution is the feeling that some members are not well represented. The inequality as far as power is concerned has been a serious set back when it comes to the implementation of policies in the body. The issue of veto power means that some members are more powerful than others meaning that there exists a power imbalance in this organization. Though this may serve well for the group as the powerful nations will force the others to play by the rules there is a danger of this concept being misused by the powerful nations where they will be forcing others to play to their tune. On the other hand European Union presents a situation where member states operate on an equal ground (Lane, J 2006)As a supranantional government , European Union member countries have transferred some of their powers to this broader authority. This power is shared equally among the member states giving them eacha an opportunity to feel part and parcel of the organization. In such an arrangement it becomes easy to implement policies and rules set by the organization since members will wilingly be ready to comply as they are bound to benefit from such seetings. (Permott, A 2000) Though in both organizations it is possible for the member state to be forced by others to implement decisions made,in the Euopean Union it is rather not necessary to take such an action since most of the polies are reached through consensus building. Therefore most of the members will be in a position to impelement what the member country has passed. In the United Nations force can be used if a member state fails to go by the rules but this does not mean that such measures are always successful. (Joachim, J and Locher, B 2009) Members have at one time or another withdrawn their contribution or their membership from the organization as a registration of their discontement with some of the policies adopted by the organization. The fact that United Nation applies persuasive means to convince member states to comply with the rules and also take part in the implementation of policies place it in a weaker position as far as its operation are concerned. It is at a disadvantaged position since not all the members are willing to play by the rules. The mechanisms available to compel members to abide by the rules are also weak giving too much leeway to the rebel members. The issue of the power imbalance among member states also plays a great role in the impedement being experienced in the matters relating to the policy implementation. (Preston, L and Windsor, D 1997) The facts that European Union members are held together by many factors make it easy for the organization to manage its affairs. All members are bound to benefit in one way or another from the policies being adopted at any time. On the other hand United Nations experience difficulties implementing some of its policies due to the fact that the organization has a wider membership, and again the ideological differences play a major role as far as this is concerned. The feeling by some of the members that they are inadequately represented makes it hard for the organization to employ mechanism which auger well for all the members (Ionescu, G 1974) When it comes to the implementation of international rules and policies United Nation stands a better chance but it’s bogged down by various issues surrounding its composition. The fact that some nations yield more power in terms of veto creates an imbalance making other members feel that they are just used as mere pawns in rubber stamping decisions reached and brought down into their throats by the powerful nations. They feel that they are not part and parcel of some of the policies being adopted. On the other hand the issue of policy ownership in the European Union has played a great role as far as its successful implementation of policies and rules is concerned. Members participate fully in the deliberation and implementation of the policies. (Mckay, D (1996) Reference Permott, A (2000) The New Politics of Financing the UN, Palgrave Macmillan Bedjaou, M (1991) International Law and Prospects, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers Preston, L and Windsor, D (1997) The Rules of the Game in the Global Economy, Springer Publishers Ionescu, G (1974) Between Sovereignty and Intergration, Taylor and Francis Emadi, B (2002) Rethinking International Organization, Routledge Taylor and Francis Blacksell, M (1978) Postwar Europe: A political Geography, West view Press Joachim, J and Locher, B (2009) Transnational Activism in the UN and EU: A Comparative Study, Taylor and Francis Lane, J (2006) Globalization and the Politics, Ashgate Publishing Mckay, D (1996) Rush to Union, Oxford University Press Lister, F (1996) The European Union, The United Nations and the Revival of the Cofederal Governance, Greeenwood Publishing co.