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Veto Power Dbq

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Veto Power Dbq
According to United States and the 4 permanent members of the Security council, Veto Power grants the 5 members an authority essential on upholding global peace. The question at hand claims oppositely, that the veto powers of these members were a serious obstacle during the Cold War (1945-1991). Sources A-E, when analysed, agrees, and also disagrees with this claim.
Sources A, D and E intrinsically agrees with the notion that veto power were a serious obstacle to action during the Cold war. Statistical data in Source A shows the number of vetoes exercised, mainly by USA and USSR. This source can be considered as the most reliable source, simply as statistics show a deeper understanding of the situation at the time. Number of vetoes practiced
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For instance, the most number of vetoes in UN history has been noted between 1946-55, during the period where the Truman doctrine, and the Berlin blockade was in act. Hence, actions by the Security Council failed to take effect, since veto delayed or halted international action. Source A shows that USA had used the veto power most during the Reagan era, from 1976-85. This reflects the use of veto as a tool by the nations to uphold the national interests, such Reagan’s anti-communist policies to contain communism, as cited in Source D. The source accurately highlights Reagan’s ‘blind-eyed’ support to Israel, which again, postponed international action against human-rights and international-treaties violations by Israel. This viewpoint is also supported in Source E, in which two academics explicitly state that global action were taken back …show more content…
Source B originates from an academic and seem to have a sound understanding of the workings of the United Nations. Both Sources B and C notes that the public fails to highlight the positive impacts of veto power. Former UN official, cited in source C is observant and can be deemed credible due to his position. This is partially accurate, as veto power has vested a sense of responsibilities in powers. It is true that UNGA, where no veto power exists, had failed miserably on coming with action, but became a ‘debating club’ of the UN, which is explicitly stated in Source E. Source B also connotes the view that the scope of the effect of Veto power is exaggerated and takes a narrow viewpoint, which cites Taiwan as a permanent member of UNSC during the Cold War, but did not represent the major world powers of the world. This point can be reflected in the Iran-Iraqi war, in which the permanent members did not exercise veto powers. This is also supported in Source C, which highlights the growth in the number of countries in UNSC, which culminated a democratic atmosphere. This is shown in the statistics of source A, which clearly shows a declining trend of the use of veto power, and has not been used throughout the Cold War on posing as a barrier to

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