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2018-06-03

Implementing Strategy: Necessary International Cooperation

By: Dr. John R.Ballard

Former Dean of the National Defense College

Modern strategists need to be proficient using the essential capabilities of national power to engage effectively internationally. Having introduced several fundamentals of strategic engagement and outlined the concept of Freedom of Action, it is useful to understand how some of the other concepts work together to develop strategic power on the international scene. A second essential concept that frames strategic options is International Cooperation.

International Cooperation is the art of maintaining alliances and sharing efforts towards common objectives among states, when beneficial. Cooperation is directly related to Freedom of Action–both impact a state’s ability to act as desired to achieve national interests. As stated previously, International Cooperation among states can limit Freedom of Action, but if the decision to cooperate is taken in a way to ensure Freedom of Action as well, then both principles are reinforced.

States can be threatened by international organisations, global business conglomerates, non-state actors of significance and even alliance structures, but they can also form relationships among such actors to deter or counter other aggressor states.

Some threats (such as refugee relief, illicit drugs, and climate change) are so large that no single nation can manage them alone. The United Nations has developed many capable agencies to help with such instances, but they cannot address all threats. On the other hand, many argue that weakly bound International Cooperation efforts, such as the League of Nations, were more harmful than good. So effective International Cooperation will normally place some constraints on national action.

Once a nation decides to cooperate with another entity and signs an agreement to do so, it is then constrained in its actions by the requirements of the agreement. For example, voluntarily entering into an alliance such as the Gulf Cooperation Council constrains each state to act only after consultation and normally in coordination with other members of the GCC. However, through membership in the GCC each state also benefits from strength in numbers.

In many ways, the economic aspects of the GCC could also be restraints, but combining the effects of so many strong economies also adds great bargaining power to the group and each member state. Therefore, the GCC, as a consultative, international cooperation effort, enhances the national power of its individual member states while applying very limited constraints on their Freedom of Action. National economic cooperation efforts such as storing UAE oil in Japan, or South Korean involvement in the construction of the Baraka Nuclear Facility, are also examples of effective cooperation, retaining Freedom of Action while improving national capabilities on both sides.

As our regional security grows ever more complex, strategic leaders must choose among various alliances and trade arrangements to ensure prosperity; each cooperative effort may require different obligations, but they have become a necessary part of global engagement. To play a strong role internationally, states should commit thoughtfully to International Cooperation efforts. When chosen wisely such cooperation can ensure national Freedom of Action without undo restraints or constraints. Thankfully, the UAE is a world leader in prudent International Cooperation.

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