THE IRISH BORDER QUESTION

By Landon Holben

After the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War came to a close in 1923, the United Kingdom and the newly ordained Irish Republic were left to decide how to go about creating and maintaining the 499 km border that divided the two nations. In 1926, a boundary agreement was lodged with the League of Nations and thus became international law. In the following decades, customs and security checkpoints were few and far between along the border. The only exception to this came during the Troubles (1968-1998), when British military forces placed checkpoints at every entry point along the border to reduce cross-border paramilitary activities. However, the largest threat to maintaining an open border has actually recently arisen within the last three years.

After the highly contested June 23, 2016 referendum in which the UK voted to “leave” the European Union, all parties involved reassured the citizens of Ireland and the UK that they would maintain an open border. This assurance came despite the fact that the boundary between Ireland and Northern Ireland would technically be an external EU border and thus require some form of security. The concept of the Irish “backstop” has come into play, which essentially would protect cross-border trade from being impacted if the UK and the EU do not agree upon an all-encompassing withdrawal deal. The kicker, however, is that this backstop agreement would allow only Northern Ireland to remain in the EU customs union and other parts of the single market. Therefore, Northern Ireland could continue unrestricted trading with Ireland, but it would be essentially separated economically from the rest of the UK.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been caught in a difficult impasse, in which the European Union and Ireland are pressuring her to accept the Irish backstop agreement while many members of May’s parliamentary coalition are pressuring her to form a deal that protects either the entire UK or none of it at all. May’s recent comments that she would not move forward with Brexit unless a comprehensive and open border policy was achieved angered many citizens and officials who are in favor of Brexit. Just recently, the German Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, announced that the European Union stands behind Ireland, affirming that the EU will not budge from promoting the Northern Ireland backstop agreement.

To make matters even worse for May, there have been reports that sentiment for Irish unification if Brexit occurs has been rising steadily among the Northern Irish public. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has received plenty of calls to stand up to the United Kingdom and to be open to unification talks regarding Northern Ireland. It seems that Brexit could very well lead to the reunification of Ireland after nearly a century of separation.

An open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland seems to still be in the best interests of both nations. However, this can only be the case if done correctly, and the current administrators of Brexit do not seem to be capable of compromising on the issue. This has been one of the main reasons that the European Union has refused to review the British government's proposals for a total UK backstop agreement; there is simply a lack of communication and cohesiveness regarding the implementation of Brexit.

Regardless of the outcome, the backstop negotiations are beginning to have real-world effects as Northern Irish freight companies are scrambling to apply for, and often being denied due to the unfinished negotiations, permits that would allow them to continue normal operations if Brexit is completed. With Prime Minister May’s March 29, 2019 exit deadline steadily approaching and continued incoherence of political messages from London, Ireland and the rest of the European Union have decided to hold their ground and let the “Brexiteers” drag themselves to the negotiation table.

THE NEW FACE OF ETHIOPIAN LEADERSHIP

By Lorena Tabrane

On October 25, 2018, a revolutionary event took place in Ethiopia. Sahle-Work Zewde, a former diplomat, was chosen to serve as the country’s first female president. She is expected to serve two six-year terms in her new position.

Following this, a new wave of women was appointed to serve in the country’s parliament, causing them to hold fifty percent of the government’s top ministerial positions. This event has raised a lot of excitement among the feminist community. It is seen as a significant advancement for women’s rights in the region; bringing the hope of a shift towards increasing equality for females in the country.

Ethiopia’s democratic government is a federal parliamentary republic. This system of government allows for a cabinet, a parliament, a president, and a prime minister. While there are clear checks and balances, the prime minister is the one who holds true power to enact change in the country; leaving the position of president as a symbolic one aimed to represent the voices of many around the nation without holding any legislative power. Although the election of Sahle-Work Zewde is greatly promising for the advancement of Ethiopian female rights, this division of powers within the state opens up the question of whether the new president will bring about actual change or simply act as an ineffectual symbol. A significant part of the answer to this question lies on the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, as his cooperation will ultimately determine whether real change will occur.

Since his election in April, Prime Minister Ahmed has enacted a series of beneficial policy changes that defy the country’s long history of human rights abuses. He freed thousands of political detainees and solved a long-lived dispute with the neighboring country of Eritrea. Although these actions seem promising, his intentions towards gender equality in Ethiopia remain unclear.

This election can ultimately have three kinds of impacts on the country. A symbolic presidency would result in a lack of governmental action towards the advancement of women’s rights. But due to its representative nature, it would cause more women to be interested in government and they may take steps towards political participation. A substantive presidency would result in advocacy and action for female rights, instead of merely symbolic representation. For this to occur, President Zewde would have to create a tangible change in Ethiopian society through legislative implementation. This form of impact would be extremely beneficial for Ethiopia’s female population, as practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriages remain in place in some regions of the country despite the government making them illegal. Lastly, Zewde could have a descriptive presidency in which her influence is not limited to women. Instead, it could extend to the educated upper class. Such advocacy would allow her to appeal to a larger section of the population and in turn lead to a greater legislative impact.

While there is a possibility for Zewde’s presidency to be a strictly symbolic one, the future of the country looks promising in terms of female advocacy. With a newly elected government, the future of the country appears to be in the hands of leaders that advocate for a more inclusive and peaceful future.

PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES: SHINING A LIGHT ON OUR SHADOW MILITARY

By Stella Connaughton

In 2004, a squad of soldiers killed 17 civilians in Baghdad. Although they were wearing American flags on their sleeves, they did not count as part of the 120,000 American soldiers in Iraq at the time. Instead, they were private military contractors: private sector soldiers that the American government paid to fight on the front lines.

Private military contractors are not a rare phenomenon: 50% of soldiers in Iraq were contracted by the American government and were not officially part of the U.S military. This industry of soldiers for hire has dramatically increased; during World War 2, only about 10% of soldiers were contracted.

Private military contractors create tricky situations in regard to their role in a conflict. While they are similar to mercenaries—soldiers for hire—PMC employees generally don’t meet the restrictive definition of a mercenary. Mercenaries are considered individuals, rather than a corporate entity that a PMC is normally defined as. On the other hand, they aren’t considered part of a country’s combatant numbers. Under international law, contractors are in fact considered civilians.

The industry of private military contractors (PMCs) is troubling. The industry generates their profit from warfare (Contractors made 138 billion dollars from the Iraq War), and their inherent profit incentive puts them at odds with American foreign policy and moral ideals. Military contractors hire soldiers from poor countries to take advantage of the thousands of men willing to be contractors for as little as a thousand dollars per month. Deficon International, one of the largest private military companies in the world, is based in Peru, a country still recovering from the effects of internal fighting. Deficon targets men who have been burdened by the cost of war and live in poverty, often with no other way to get a job.

PMCs show how reliant the United States is on the private sector for warfare as well as how the private sector is reliant on warfare for business.

Military and arms contractors are one of the biggest lobbying groups on Capitol Hill. The way they get business is when the United States needs soldiers, guns, bombs, and weapons—when the U.S goes to war. The American government then puts out a bid for a contract, often totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. In 2017, the Pentagon appropriated $320 billion for contractors.

Military lobbyists perpetuate war because it creates perpetual profits for businesses. To promote war, lobbyists spread fear. Inflation of international threats in order to increase public support for the war on terror remains a Washington tradition. Today, the arms lobby pushes for deeper US intervention in countries like Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Since the United States is not required to officially count contractors in “boots on the ground” statistics, there is less political cost associated with deploying military contractors. As a result, the United States deploys more troops in a “bigger equals better” mindset, due to the sheer number of contractors available. This incentive for intervention ultimately ends up boosting terrorism. Empirically, increasing military personnel increases anti-American terror by 30%.

As seen in the mindless killings of innocent Iraqis by contractors, private soldiers are not regulated and are more likely to commit human rights abuses. Since they don’t have to be held accountable by the U.S military, they often are more aggressive and less responsible. In addition, they are rarely trained in international law and human rights. Increases usage of PMCs will turn public opinion against U.S military occupation and increases anti-American sentiment.

The United States needs to change its current approach to private military contractors to maintain U.S support in military conflicts and regain legitimacy in peace-building operations. The federal government should establish a non-partisan independent body with the task of specifically regulating and vetting private military companies and ensuring that they’re trained to properly enter combat zones and other operations.

Most importantly, the United States should enter multilateral treaties with other countries to oversee private military contractors and avoid jurisdiction issues regarding contractors abroad.

With the long-term in mind, the United States must decrease its reliance on private military companies. They’ve empirically been a huge waste in our already bloated military spending and perpetuate one of the most harmful lobbying groups in Washington. Furthermore, the United States will never be seen as a country that prioritizes democracy and peace if we continue to rely on companies that depend on warfare for profit. When the United States goes to war, the outcome doesn’t matter: the PMC industry will always win.