The Advantages of International Intervention in Mali - Essay Example

The advantages of international intervention on Mali conflict Apparently, the Mali conflict is one of the extreme experiences witnessed in the African continent in the past few months. In actual sense, the country had been experiencing a conflict where a certain rebel group known as MNLA overthrew the Malian government led by President Amadou Toure based on allegations that he was unable to handle the issue of Azawad as part of the country a month before the country anticipated for presidential elections. Azawad is the northern part of the country where the rebel group wanted to make them an independent country within main Mali. Never the less, the international community came to their rescue after the situation began getting out of hand for the country and people were killed mercilessly by the rebel group. To begin with, the decision by international intervention such as the UNSC was mainly motivated by the fact that the situation had gotten to a point where the rebels were slowly gaining control of the country after the military coup and as such, it was easier for them to take full control, therefore, inviting more possibility for the complex terrorist groups such as al –Qaeda and other Islamic groups that are known to cause terror in Northern Africa. In addition, the international intervention was meant to ensure that those who had been held hostage by the rebel group were rescued in a manner that did not constitute to more deaths. For instance, the France government which was one of the countries affected by the conflict through citizens who had been held hostage, extended their assistance during an additional military and air strikes. This ultimately led to the defeat of the rebel groups and the rescue of the captives from France. Having gone through a period of conflict, international intervention was necessarily especially because it would assist the given country in regaining back its lost glory in terrorist attack hence the territorial integrity. For instance, the French government played a huge role in ensuring that Mali had regained its lost glory during the military coup and as such, had began gaining stability through the operations that went on for weeks of fighting the rebels who had attempted to occupy the northern part of Mali. In light of this, political analysts have argued that such interventions play a huge role in ensuring that there is peace across the world. It is for undoubted reasons that due to the implications that come along with the reconstruction of countries that have been through extreme conflicts of various kinds, their political, social and economic stability is affected. As a result, international intervention plays a huge role in ensuring that affected countries such as Mali receive assistance particularly on economic status. For instance, the United States and other foreign countries sent foreign aid to assist Mali in terms of reconstructing their economy, which had been sabotaged by the conflict argued to have lasted for a period of 18 months. Similarly, the UN World Food assisted with funds for nutrition and food, health care and medical supplies among other necessities. Of importance to note that the cost of international intervention particularly from developed countries is mostly motivated by humble humanitarianism, which denotes that the human lives are more precious than any other thing in the world. As such, people from different parts of the world tend to extend a helping hand to countries of their interests. At times, some of these developed countries are willing to assist in such situations because they expect support from these countries at a given time. For instance, developed countries have always relied on developing countries particularly in Africa for the production of raw materials, which are further used in the manufacture of more complex products. Political analysts have argued that the Mali’s conflict could have become much worse than it was had the international intervention not been placed by the French government, Canadian government and the United States. Hence, the foreign policy gave license to these countries to assist in resolving the conflict, which had initially led to political instability. Never the less, it is worth noting that at times developing countries such as Mali and others in North Africa have been regular victim of terror attacks particularly from Islam based rebel group. Disadvantages of international intervention It is apparent many nations have undergone transformation in regard to the rule of law and the way governments are ran. In most cases where regimes fail to meet the expectations of its people, several actors intervene with the intent of helping to solve the conflict. In this regard, both non state actors and international community plays a critical role in restoring stability in such countries. However, although the intended goal of such interventions is for a good course, there are several issues that must be looked at to ensure there is absence of conflict between the citizens and the government in place. First, it is correct to argue that international involvement is indispensable when the situation goes beyond the country’s capability to restore normalcy. However, sovereign states would always find it necessary to solve their conflicts internally. The argument can be based on the fact that the international community cannot always be there to help the country run its affairs. For instance, it is apparent that most of the conflicts that face many nations revolve around the running of the government and bad governance. Therefore, even if the international community can intervene and help the country solve its problems, the bus stops with the people of the country. This means that, for example, if it is bad governance that creates the conflicts, it is therefore only the people of that particular country that can solve the problem by enacting or changing the constitution in order to put an end to such conflicts. Second, international community can only intervene to help solve problems related to highly ranked personalities or institution, but cannot get down to the grassroots to help the communities. For instance, in the case of Mali, even though the international community helped in reinstating the overthrown regime, it is evident that there is continued conflict among different groups with different interests. In this instance, it is clear that the international community only helped Mali to reinstate the overthrown regime, but have not helped the country solve the underlying problems. Third, the international community can have a different view from that of the people of the country in conflict. For instance, the people of the sovereign country may feel that a certain regime has failed and decide to kick them out of the office. If the only thing the international community can do is to intervene in helping the overthrown government come back to the office without addressing the real causes or reasons for the rejection of the regime by the people, then it is similar to taking care of the symptoms and pay no attention to the causes. Fourth, in situations like that of Mali where the conflicts are highly linked to political intrigues with some groups yearning for political power, reinstating the previous/overthrown government without having a discussion with the other groups can only fuel the problem. In fact, the relations between the country and the international community might even worsen especially when the majority feels that the international community just intervenes in favor of their enemies/political rivals. Implication of the intervention The implications of the disadvantages of international intervention are clear. First, the conflict of the country can only increase in case not all concerned parties were involved in the decision reached by the international community. Second, the running of such a government would be difficult with many problems emerging whenever decisions are made that tends not to favor the opposition. In addition, it is evident that only person that suffers most is common man who has to face the reality of failure of the government to offer services as conflicts continues between the government and the opposition. Studies have documented that, it is the citizens who suffers whenever there are conflicts between governments and oppositions. This is for the reason that the administration is unable to concentrate on delivering services to the people, but instead, they concentrate on solving the ever-growing conflicts. In addition, international relations of the country in question can only worsen with their counterparts. In this regard, it is significant to have international convections that recognize the power of the people of sovereign countries thus first seeking people’s grievances before intervening and favoring any side of the conflicting parties. For instance, if the constitution stipulates that the power of the government is bestowed on the people, who decide who to lead and who not to lead them, therefore, it would be wrong for the international or non government actors to just intervene and make decisions on behalf of the people. Nevertheless, when things get out of hand, international intervention that leads to peace resolution and creates room for negotiations is necessary for the well being of the country. Read More