Over homecoming weekend in September, Covenant College had the opportunity to host Mr. Brett Schaefer, Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. Mr. Schaefer has over 20 years of experience working in and with the United Nations. This is the second of two Q&A sessions in which Senior International Studies major Jake Sonke and Mr. Schaefer discuss the nature of the United Nations, what it does as an organization, and why the greater Covenant College community should pay attention to international politics today.
J. Sonke: What are some of the challenges faced by the UN right now?
B. Schaefer: Right now, the most preeminent challenge faced by the organization is the invasion of Russia into Ukraine. That is a direct violation of the UN Charter: one member country of the UN invading and trying to take territory from another one is one of the most fundamental violations of the UN Charter that can happen. The UN, of course, is very challenged in responding to that because Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security council. It has a veto just like the US does and can stop the UN from taking decisive, punitive action in response to that.
J. Sonke: Could you discuss what the goals for the UN are? We’re talking here specifically in the context of Ukraine and how that’s revealed some of the goals of the UN, but talk a bit more, if you would, about what’s the point of the UN?
B. Schaefer: The original point of the UN was to try to prevent another world war. That was the preeminent purpose of the organization. To bring countries together; to resolve disputes amicably, through discussion and negotiation, rather than through conflict; but also to promote fundamental human rights and freedoms; and to also lead territories around the world, colonies of countries at the time, towards self-governance so that they could realize the human rights and self-determination that we all hope to achieve and value today.
J. Sonke: Many American citizens, like you said, don’t know a whole lot about the UN. It’s not something that affects us in our everyday lives too much, and if we do know anything about the UN, it is often in a negative or almost apathetic light. How and why should we at Covenant College care about UN politics and international politics more broadly?
B. Schaefer: It's interesting because Gallup does polls on the UN every few years, and what they see consistently is that Americans like the idea of the UN, but they’re sort of disappointed in the reality. It’s an organization that has potential to help us resolve problems and to advance our interests, such as promoting human rights and helping populations around the world deal with conflict or hunger, but the organization isn’t necessarily the most effective deliverer of those goals. And so, we’re constantly trying to spur the organization to be more effective, to be more efficient and to do its job more effectively. People should care about that, and Americans do care about that. The world used to be big, and it’s a lot smaller today; problems that occur overseas don’t necessarily stay overseas. We as a country have an interest in trying to make sure those problems don’t migrate to our doorstep in ways that we’re going to regret, and so taking preemptive action to try to alleviate those problems is in our long-term interest.
J. Sonke: What stories or issues should college students be following if they do want to have a better understanding of how the world is shifting today?
B. Schaefer: It’s a funny thing: US news doesn’t dedicate a whole lot of time to global affairs. Most of the US news programs have a strong focus on domestic politics and issues, and so if you notice during the class, almost all of the news clips that I had included in the class were foreign news services. I would urge them, if they’re interested in these issues, to get online and look for news coverage by BBC, by The Economist, by other news outlets from different areas of the world. That gives you a much more direct line of insight into issues that are happening around the world in ways that you’re not going to get if you’re a passive viewer of US news programs.
J. Sonke: Thank you so much. It was great to talk to you. This is precisely what we’re trying to get more of in The Bagpipe, trying to get a broader perspective for our students, not only as we’re up here on a mountain, but also getting a wider perspective as citizens and responsible Americans.
This September, Mr. Brett Schaefer, Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs in Heritage Center's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, came to campus to teach "POL 390: The United Nations Challenge," focusing on issues of UN reform and its meaning for U.S. national interests. This condensed course was made possible through the Honaker Family Public Service Endowment, an alumni endowment to the Department of History, Politics and International Studies, intended to cultivate Covenant students' commitment to public service in politics, police and international affairs. Together with last year's inaugural Honaker Endowment event, "POL 390: The China Challenge" with Dr. James Holmes of the U.S. Naval War College, Mr. Schaefer's course sets the tone for the timely and critical issues and expert analysis we intend to bring to our students thanks to this generous gift. We are incredibly grateful for the Honaker family's passion to see more Christians who possess a solidly-grounded, biblical worldview enter key areas of public policy and political science.