Poland and Humanitarianism

Recently an old university colleague put on Facebook the statement: "Asylum is a human right". I was very temped to put a sarcastic or ironic comment, but luckily stopped myself from doings so as I'm sure it would just be viewed as cruel and unnecessary.  Why unnecessary? Well her intentions were no doubt good and she has always been a humanitarian and in that I admire her. Yet, her comment displayed a naive view of both International Relations and Philosophy (N.B. we studied International Relations together at university).

The problem which she aptly displayed is that asylum involves the crossing of a political border and the shelter within a third party state. These very terms indicate the constructed nature of each and hence their in-congruent relationship with human nature. Not in-congruent in that humans cannot live with such concepts but rather that from a philosophical perspective these terms: state, asylum, etc, do not match the accepted terms of human nature. We understand human nature as something inherent and innate to humans. Therefore how can an obvious construct such as a state be at the same time instrumental in a human right, that is, Asylum? If a human right is to exist it must pre-date any man-made construct.

This inevitably begs the question as to what extent human rights are universal. To understand this we must first discuss what are human rights. Does a right exist prior to it being legislated upon? My instinct and empathy says yes of course it does. I want to believe that regardless of any written law, there is a basic truth that exists separate to society and legal procedures. Yet philosophically speaking this is very difficult to prove. A very good summary of the problem exists here: 

I am interested in any views as to how this effects the UN's Responsibility to Protect resolution. In order to declare war we must be sure in our minds that such a right exists or else we risk being imperialistic in our actions.To bring this all back into some vague relationship with Poland and the main theme of this blog. Poland entered into two wars in the last decade and in many ways got its fingers burnt. In the future it may be temped to stop interacting on a grand scale altogether; yet if it does this it risks slipping back into the international isolation that existed during the communist era. More concretely though, by not being able to define its humanitarian credentials it risks its domestic ethical ideals. Only through a strong and robust demonstration of beliefs can a country affirm its defining concepts.

 Therefore the extent to which Poland is truly an ethical state will be shown by its foreign policy. So far as proven on the Belarus front, all is looking good :)

Belarus and the false idolatry nature of sanctions

There seems to be an ever present vogue within international relations when it comes to how to deal with States that are considered at odds with the excepted view of what a State should be. Whether it be Iran and nuclear ambitions or Zimbabwe and political rights, the International Community and the international press congress around the idea of sanctions. We here of smart-sanctions and the like; strategically geared to hurt those in power, and not the normal citizen. Yet, looking back over the course of the post-war history it is difficult to see discernible examples of where sanctions brought about the desired regime change.

Jacek Pawlicki (Gazeta Wyborcza) in his January 31^st article claimed that the EU should stop pussy-footing about and start imposing real and punitive sanctions. Pawlicki claimed that the sanctions should be installed regardless of the side-effects (translated in Eurotopics as: “even if this means that parts of the country are reduced to poverty”). The journalist then went on to clarify that: “The impact of these measures could be softened by lifting the visa restrictions for ordinary Belarusian citizens or by providing numerous grants for young people or financial backing for independent media.”

The shear absurdity of this premise begs the casual reader to take stock and confirm that they have not inadvertently entered a dream-state. It only takes a cursory look at the history of sanction use to see that when employed non-specifically sanctions not only have little effect, they do indeed worsen the situation. Take Cuba for example; over forty years of a US embargo have not brought the pro-western outburst and collapse of the communist regime we assume they were intended to bring. Sanctions have allowed a dictatorial regime to justify itself as the defender of the nation against the “harsh imperialists”. Iran is yet another example where sanctions have had little effect and can be argued to have increased the patriotic fever in the country.

Sanctions no matter how “smart” invariable damage the ordinary citizen. Leaders, by the very nature of their position, manage to side-step such effects. In the process of damaging the average “Jo” sanctions increase a feeling of isolation and a need for a strong leader in troubled times. Therefore sanctions can have the direct opposite of the desired effect. Pawlicki's call for a lifting of visa restrictions seems a heartless joke in comparison. The knock-on effect of such sanctions and visa restrictions could be a deluge of poor hungry refugees leaving behind a bitter and trustless country to stick to its guns.

The EU should embrace Belarus and use positive tactics to attract ordinary Belorussians to “convert”. Lukashenko still has a large following of ordinary people. It is these ordinary people that must be won. Poland's cultural program (BELSAT TV broadcasts etc...) has far more potential for change. It is only with a true grass-roots change that any real democracy can be forged.

Poland’s Minsk Policy

As Minsk edges further away from the European fold, can Poland entice it back?
Since Belarus’s disputed Presidential elections in December 2010 Poland has dramatically increased its focus on its eastern neighbour. In recent days Poland, along with Lithuania, has dropped the charge for entry visas for Belarussian citizens as well as made it easier for students to study in Poland. These efforts are coupled with cultural support such as BELSAT, a Belorussian language TV station which broadcasts in Belarus.

(Full text avilable on the Baltic Review)