Why is it difficult for institutions like the un to enforce international law?

Answer 1

It can be very difficult to create standards, guidelines, or rules that can please the different countries around the world. There are many different opinions, religions, views, politics, and forms of government that it can be very difficult to please all of them.

Answer 2

The United Nations faces two major issues in enforcing collective security. First is a collective action problem. Because the UN cannot raise taxes or maintain a standing army they are wholly reliant on their various members to provide troops and capital. these members then face issues of cost of money and life or face economic sanctions. This leads to an issue with the free rider problem where members let the burden of providing to public good of peace on others. This means that most UN actions are underfunded and undermanned. Second, the UN faces a joint decision making problem. Members must recognize what acts constitute a threat to national peace and security, and what an appropriate response would be. This question is not always clear cut as the UN allows for military use in the case of self defense and almost all conflicts are said to be in self defense. The unanimity necessary for a decision to be made leads the costs of collective security to rise and inaction. In order to deal with this issue, the UN created the Security Council and the Permanent 5. The security council is made up of 10 members plus the Permanent 5; The United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, and China. this council is in charge of determining what actions constitute a response, and what that response will be. A simple majority is necessary for the 10 non-permanent members but every member of the permanent 5 must agree in order to give the decisions legitimacy. This gives the Permanent 5 unlimited veto power in UN international relations. Other issues the UN faces in enforcing collective security is the costs associated with enforcement of policies, including military funding, checks and balances, and costs associated with ensuring that various countries are doing as they are told to.