International Organizations

1. Read the article and look up the meaning of the unknown words and phrases in the dictionary.

The end of the Cold War has brought a clear turning point for NATO. First, the nature of risks and potential threats has changed radically. Second, NATO has been going through a process of adaptation, adding to its traditional common defense functions new collective security functions.

It is clear that the alliance’s transition process is far from over yet, and a key step forward will have to be made with the adoption of a new strategic concept.

The principles of basic human rights, international law and multilateral action, in the spirit of the United Nations, must be combined to make NATO a collective force of stability and security.

2. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases. Reproduce the sentences from the article with them.

Концепция; поворотный момент; переходный период; основные права человека; совместная оборона; совместные операции; коллективная безопасность; принятие(концепции); угроза.

3. Answer the questions using the active vocabulary.

1) What did the end of the Cold War bring to NATO?

2) What has changed in the world that makes NATO go through a process of adaptation?

3) What new functions does NATO have to add?

4) What principles should NATO be based on to make itself a collective force of stability and security?

1. Read the article and look up the meaning of unknown words and phrases in the dictionary.

Give peacekeeping muscle to the United Nations.

The need for a standing United Nations military force to fulfill the organization’s prime mission of maintaining peace has become almost a cliché of international rhetoric. The idea figured in the charter from the very beginning, has been urged ever since.

The end of the Cold War has seen not a reduction but increase in the number of open conflicts and appeals to the UN to restore peace.

The United Nations, being all the nations, cannot and must not have enemies, but it does have principles and practices to defend. Therefore, if the organization considers itself serious, these principles must be defended seriously and vigorously.

Getting a better, more effective peacekeeping job out of the United Nations is obviously in the world’s interest. It requires a shift in attitude. We should demand peaceful results.

2. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

A shift in attitude; an appeal to (smb.); an increase in; a charter; to restore peace; peacekeeping; in the world interest; a standing military force; to maintain peace; a reduction.

3. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases.

Восстанавливать мир; сокращение; изменение отношения; сохранять мир; в интересах мира; увеличение числа; призыв к; постоянный военный контингент; защищать; миротворчество.

4. Read the article again and answer the questions.

1) What has become a cliché of international rhetoric?

2) What idea has been urged in connection with the UN’s role in the modern world?

3) Has the number of open conflicts reduced since the end of the Cold War?

4) What does the UN have to defend?

5) What is the world’s interest?

5. Questions for discussion.

1. Why do you think a standing UN military force is of growing importance today?

2. What principles and practices to your mind does the UN have to defend?

3. Do you agree that the UN could and should have a more active peacekeeping function?

4. What shift in attitude is needed?

9. Translate the following articles into English.

Президент Российской Федерации посетит с официальным визитом штаб-квартиру НАТО. Об этом сообщил заместитель главы МИД. Первоначально планировалось, что посещение штаб-квартиры НАТО будет носить протокольный характер, однако после терактов в Бостоне предстоящие беседы будут серьёзные.

Визит Генерального секретаря ООН.

Генеральный секретарь ООН посетит Россию с официальным визитом. Как заявил вчера замминистра иностранных дел РФ, « в ходе визита предполагается обсудить пути сотрудничества России с ООН с целью повышения эффективности организации в интересах поддержания мира, стабильности и международной безопасности». Российская сторона рассчитывает, что визит Генерального секретаря ООН будет способствовать укреплению роли ООН в урегулировании кризисов и конфликтов в различных регионах мира. В день прибытия Генсек ООН встретится с российским президентом. Он также встретится с главой правительства РФ, министром иностранных дел и министром обороны.

Translation Notes

При переводе русских заголовков на английский язык следует учитывать следующее:

1. В заголовках отсутствуют артикли и глаголы – связки;

2. Заголовки должны быть краткими, но они редко строятся как назывное предложение(напр.Visit of UN Secretary General);

3. Заголовок, как правило, выражает основную идею статьи и строится как обычное предложение, в котором есть подлежащее и сказуемое;

4. При этом прошедшее время, как правило, передаётся глаголом настоящего времени (напр.Russian President Visits Japan –если визит состоялся); будущее действие передаётся модальным глаголом be to,но глагол-связка отсутствует(напр. Russian President to Visit Japan-если визит только предстоит), а настоящее время передаётся при помощи Present Continuous, глагол-связка отсутствует(напр.Russian President Visiting Japan –если визит проходит в настоящий момент);

5. Предлагаемый вариант перевода данного заголовка: (The)UN Secretary General to Visit Russia. Однако вы можете предложить свой собственный вариант.

6. При переводе русских безличных предложений можно использовать Passive Voice в английском варианте, но лучше ввести формальное подлежащее, например He, They, The sides и т.п.

Read the article and look up the meaning of unknown words and phrases in the dictionary

How the UN works

The United Nations was established on October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership now totals nearly 200 countries.

When states become members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security,

To develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights, and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

UN members are sovereign countries. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us.

The United Nations is much more than a peacekeeper and forum for conflict resolution. Often without attracting attention, the United Nation is engaged in a vast array of work that touches every aspect of people’s lives around the world.

Child survival and development. Environmental protection. Human rights. Health and medical research. Alleviation of poverty and economic development. Agricultural development.

Education. Family planning. Emergency and disaster relief. Air and sea travel. Peaceful uses of atomic energy. Labor and worker’s rights. The list goes on and on.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them-the General Assembly, the Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat – are based at UN headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at the Hague, the Netherlands.

The General Assembly

All UN member states are represented in the General Assembly – a kind of parliament of nations which meets to consider the world’s most pressing problems. Each member state has one vote. Decisions on “important matters,” such as international peace and security, admitting new members, the UN budget are decided by two- thirds majority. Other matters are decided by simple majority.in recent years; a special effort has been made to reach decisions through consensus, rather than by formal vote.

The Assembly holds its annual regular session from September to December. When necessary, it may resume its session, or hold a special or emergency session on subjects of particular concern.

The Security Council

The UN Charter gives the Security Council primary responsibilities for maintaining international peace and security. The Council may convene at any time, day or night, whenever

Peace is threatened.

There are 15 Council members. Five of these – China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members. The other 10 are elected by the General Assembly for a ten-year term. Decisions of the Council require nine votes.

What the UN does for peace.

Preserving world peace is a central purpose of the United Nations. Under the Charter, member states agree to settle disputes by peaceful means and refrain from threatening or using force against other states.

UN efforts have produced dramatic results. The UN helped defuse the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and the Middle East crisis in 1973. In 1988 a UN-sponsored peace settlement ended the Iran-Iraq war. In the 1990s, the UN was instrumental in restoring sovereignty to Kuwait and played a major role in ending civil wars in Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mozambique.

US peacemaking brings hostile parties to agreement through diplomatic means. The Security Council may recommend ways to avoid conflict or restore or secure peace – through negotiation, for example, or undertake mediation, or recourse to the International Court or Justice. In the event of fighting the UN tries to secure a ceasefire. It may to keep opposing forces apart. Peacekeeping operations may last for a few months or continue for many years.

1. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

To preserve peace; to set out basic principles; to maintain peace; conflict resolution; most pressing problems; two-thirds majority; mediation; under the charter; to resume; according to the charter/under the charter; subjects of particular concern; to settle disputes by peaceful means; to secure ceasefire; to maintain the truce; to commit to.

2. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases and reproduce the sentences from the text with this active vocabulary.

Насущные проблемы; сохранить мир; сохранять перемирие; установить основные принципы; обеспечивать прекращение огня; посредничество; по уставу; урегулировать конфликты мирными средствами; вопросы, вызывающие особую озабоченность; поддерживать мир; взять обязательство; разрешение конфликтов; большинство в 2/3; в соответствии с уставом; возобновить.

3. Read the article again and answer the questions using the active vocabulary.

1). When was UN established and for what purpose?

2) What does the UN Charter set out?

3) What are the main organs of the UN?

4) What are the functions of the General assembly and how does it take its decisions?

5) What responsibilities does the Security Council have?

6) How many members are there in the Security Council?

7) What are some of the instruments the UN uses to preserve peace?

Questions for discussion

1) Do you think the United Nations fulfills its mission today?

2) What recent actions or peacekeeping operations of the UN can you remember? Were they successful?

3) Do you think that the role of the UN is really very important in the modern world? Substantiate your point of view.

4) Do you think the UN peacekeeping forces could substitute for NATO or EU forces in the future?

Read the article and look up the unknown words and phrases in the dictionary.

NATO today

Is NATO the right organization to assume the regional security responsibilities in Europe? It is not Europe’s only security organization, not even the largest one. One alternative to NATO is Europe’s largest collective security group, the 55-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Unlike the OSCE, NATO is an exclusive organization involving about half of Europe’s states. The alliance’s selective nature inevitably raises questions about its legitimacy. By what right does a group of minority states enforce order among Europe’s majority states? NATO’s Bosnia mission was launched on the request of the United Nations’ Security Council. But the Kosovo war received no such endorsement. NATO acted on the basis of a vote in the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s own highest decision-making body. NATO’s unilateral action appeared to violate, if not the letter, then the spirit, of the UN Charter.

NATO remains a self-appointed interpreter and enforcer of these rules, and it is willing to enforce them with military might, and as such it inevitably arouses suspicious among some neighbors. Russia’s objections to NATO’s Kosovo operation focused not as much on tactical issues as they did on the fact that the alliance launched the air war without a US Security Council authorization. Even more worrisome to Moscow, nothing theoretically prevents the alliance from launching a similar operation against Russia itself. The President of Belarus justified the union between Russia and Belarus as a response to NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia.

1. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

To assume security responsibilities; minority; to enforce; legitimacy; majority; endorsement; decision-making body.

2. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases.

Орган, ответственный за принятие решений; меньшинство; поддержка; взять на себя ответственность за безопасность; большинство; законность; одобрение.

3. Read the article again and complete the following sentences using the active vocabulary.

1. NATO is trying to assume……

2. NATO’s nature raises questions about its….

3. A group of states is trying to enforce….

4. The Kosovo war did not receive any endorsement…

5. There was worry to Moscow, that theoretically nothing prevents the alliance from….

6. The alliance began the war without….

4. Answer the questions on the article.

1) Is NATO the largest security organization in Europe?

2) What questions does NATO’s nature raise?

3) What did a group of states try to enforce among other Europe’s states?

4) What body endorsed the Kosovo war?

5) What did NATO unilateral action violate?

6) What are fears of NATO based on?

5. Using the given “package words” express your agreement or disagreement with the following statements.

Agreement: I can’t agree more/I agree with you. /Yes, it’s true.

Disagreement: I’m afraid it’s not quite true./I’m sorry, you’re mistaken./I don’t see eye to eye with you on smith.

1) NATO is Europe’s largest security organization.

2) The Kosovo war did not receive the endorsement of the United Nation’s Security Council.

3) NATO’s unilateral action violated if not the letter, then the spirit, of UN Charter.

4) NATO keeps away from enforcing its rules with military might.

6. Using the active vocabulary render the article in English.

7. Comment the following statements.

1) NATO is the right organization to assume the regional security responsibilities in Europe.

2) The alliance’s selective nature inevitably raises questions about its legitimacy.

3) NATO is willing to enforce its rules with military might, and as such it inevitably arouses suspicions among some neighbors.

4) Fears that NATO may potentially abuse us military might have translated into tension and insecurity in Europe.

5) Europe would be better off with a collective security organization instead of NATO.

8. Translate the following articles into English.

1.

Министры иностранных дел Финляндии и Швеции призвали к созданию единого фронта Европейского союза по борьбе с терроризмом. Однако обе главы внешнеполитических ведомств подчеркнули, что при сотрудничестве в этой сфере не должны создаваться военные гарантии безопасности.

Оба министра иностранных дел указывают, что страны – члены Евросоюза должны подтвердить свои намерения в борьбе с терроризмом путём подписания особого соглашения о взаимопомощи на тот случай, если какая-либо страна ЕС станет объектом терроризма. По мнению министров, такое соглашение должно касаться военной, политической и экономической помощи странам, пострадавшим от атак террористов.

2.

Премьер-министр Финляндии в своём новогоднем обращении к народу указал, что

Усиление роли ООН является важнейшим пунктом в борьбе с международным терроризмом. По его словам, ООН должна становиться всё сильнее и этот процесс должен остаться постоянным.

По мнению главы финского кабинета министров. Борьба с распространением оружия массового поражения является новым вызовом ,стоящим между международным сообществом.

Расширение Евросоюза, по его мнению, будет способствовать укреплению стабильности и позволит уменьшить различия в социальном экономическом развитии стран, которые получили приглашение стать членами союза.

По его мнению, Евросоюз должен и дальше продолжать активную работу по достижению равенства между всеми гражданами ЕС и увеличению регионального сотрудничества. Он также указал, что отношения с Россией после решения о расширении ЕС должны развиваться более активно.

Comment on the quotations:

“Since the wars begin in the minds of men the defenses of peace must be constructed.” (The UNESCO motto)

“Peace, like war, can succeed only where there is a will to enforce it and where there is available power to enforce it.” (Franklin D.Roosevelt)

1. Read the article and look up the meaning of unknown words and phrases.

NATO concept

NATO’s essential and enduring purpose set out in the Washington Treaty is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means. Based on common values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Alliance has striven since its inception to secure a just and lasting peaceful order in Europe. The achievement of this aim can be put at risk by crisis and conflict affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Alliance therefore not only ensures the defense of its members but contributes to peace and stability in this region.

The fundamental guiding principle by which the Alliance works is that of common commitment and mutual cooperation among sovereign states in support of the indivisibility of security for all of its members. Solidarity and cohesion within the Alliance, through daily cooperation in both the political and military spheres, ensure that no single Ally is forced to rely upon its own national efforts alone in dealing with basic security challenges. Without depriving member states of their right and duty to assume their sovereign responsibilities in the field of defense, the Alliance enables them through collective effort to realize their essential national security objectives.

Security: To provide one of the indispensable foundations for a stable Euro-Atlantic security environment, based on the growth of democratic institutions and commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes, in which no country would be able to intimidate or coerce any other through the threat or use of force.

Consultation: To serve, as provided for in Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, as an essential transatlantic forum for Allied consultations on any issues that affect their vital interests, including possible developments posing risks for members’ security, and for appropriate co-ordination of their efforts in fields of common concern.

Deterrence and Defense: To deter and defend against any threat of aggression against any NATO member state as provided for in Article 5 and 6 of the Washington Treaty.

Security challenges and risks.

Notwithstanding positive developments in the strategic environment and the fact that large-scale conventional aggression against the Alliance is highly unlikely, the possibility of such a treat emerging over the longer term exists. The security of the Alliance remains subject to a wide variety of military and non-military risks which are multi-directional and often difficult to predict.

These risks include uncertainty and instability in and around the Euro-Atlantic area and the possibility of regional crises at the periphery of the Alliance, which could evolve rapidly. Some countries in and around the Euro-Atlantic area face serious economic, social, and political difficulties. Ethnic and religious rivalries, territorial disputes, inadequate or failed efforts at reform, the abuse of human rights, and the dissolution of states can lead to local and even regional instability. The resulting tensions could lead to crises affecting Euro-Atlantic stability, to human suffering, and to armed conflicts. Such conflicts could affect the security of the Alliance by spilling over into neighboring countries, including NATO countries, or in other ways, any could also affect the security of other states.

The existence of powerful nuclear forces outside the Alliance also constitutes a significant factor which the Alliance has to take into account if security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area are to be maintained.

The proliferation of NBC (Nuclear, Bacteriological and Chemical) weapons and their means of delivery remains a matter of serious concern. In spite of welcome progress in strengthening international non-proliferation regimes, major challenges with respect to proliferation remain. The Alliance recognizes that proliferation can occur despite efforts to prevent it and can pose a direct military threat to the Allies’ populations, territory, and forces. Some states, including on NATO’s periphery and in other regions, sell or acquire or try to acquire NBC weapons and delivery means. Commodities and technology that could be used to build these weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means are becoming more common, while detection and prevention of illicit trade in these materials and know-how continues to be difficult. Non-state actors have shown the potential to create and use some of these weapons.

Any armed attack on the territory of the Allies, from whatever direction, would be covered by Article 5 and 6 of the Washington Treaty. However, Alliance’s security must also take account of the globe context. Alliance security interests can be affected by other risks of disruption of large numbers of people, particularly as a consequence of armed conflicts, can also pose problems for security and stability affecting the Alliance. Arrangements exist within the Alliance for consultation among the Allies under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty and, where appropriate, co-ordination of their efforts including their responses to risks of this kind.

2. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

To safeguard; the rule of law; a commitment; a challenge; to deter; a large-scale conventional aggression; a rivalry; the abuse of human rights; a dissolution; a proliferation; to pose a threat to; delivery means; weapons of mass destruction (WMD); offensive and defensive advanced weaponry; to provide for; adversary.

3. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases and make up your own sentences or situations with them.

Роспуск; средства доставки (оружия массового поражения); защищать; представлять угрозу; обязательство; вызов; устрашать; враг/противник; решение споров; запугивать; нарушать права человека; принуждать; современное наступательное и оборонительное вооружение; затрагивать/влиять; жизненно важный; устрашение; широкомасштабная агрессия с применением обычного вооружения; оружие массового поражения; соперничество; распространение (оружия массового поражения); предусматривать/предписывать; верховенство закона.

4. Read the article again and answer the questions.

1) What is the official purpose of NATO?

2) What is NATO based on?

3) What is the fundamental NATO’s principle?

4) Are NATO’s allies encouraged to rely upon their own national efforts alone in dealing with basic security challenges? And why?

5) What are NATO’s principle tasks? What do they mean?

6) What is highly unlikely in NATO’s security environment?

7) What non-military challenges does NATO face today?

8) Who do you think is meant by”powerful nuclear forces outside NATO” that constitutes a significant factor which the Alliance has to take into account?

9) What does the proliferation challenge mean?

5. Comment on the following statements.

1) NATO’s purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.

2) NATO’s principle task is defense of its members.

3) Today the biggest threat to NATO is a large – scale conventional aggression against the Alliance.

4) Non-military challenges pose the most serious threat to NATO today.

6. Look at the NATO security challenges and risks again and make up a chart defining which of them are of vital and peripheral nature.

Vital

1.

2.

3.

Peripheral

1.

2.

3.

7. Give a summary of the NATO concept in English using the words and expressions from the previous exercises.

Make a presentation on the topics below and answer the questions of the audience.

1. NATO’s role and tasks today

2. Should Russia join NATO?

Unit VII.

Propaganda and Politics

Task1:

Do you think that propaganda is an essential component of politics?

Prove your point of view.

How do you understand the phrases: communistic propaganda, imperialistic propaganda, nationalistic propaganda, etc.?

Task2:

Read these joke-definitions. Tell if they reflect the true ideology.

Have

Mayflower Politics for Beginners.

Socialism: You have two cows-you give one to your neighbor.

Communism: You have two cows- the government takes them both and gives you the milk.

Fascism: You have two cows-the government takes them both and sells you the milk.

Nazism: You have two cows-the government takes them both and shoots you.

Capitalism: You have two cows-you sell one and you buy a bull.

Trade Unionism: You have two cows- they take them from you, shoot one, milk the other and throw away the milk.

Moral: Don’t have anything to do with two cows. They only bring you trouble.

Task 3:

Read the text “Propaganda. How not to Be Bamboozled” and do the tasks that follow.

Propaganda. How not to Be Bamboozled.

Propaganda. If an opinion poll were taken tomorrow, we can be sure that nearly everyone would be against it because it sounds so bad. When we say “Oh, that’s just propaganda,”it means, to most people, “That’s a pack of lies.” But really, propaganda is simply a means of persuasion and so it can be put to work for good causes as well as bad – to persuade people to give to charity, for example, or to love their neighbors, or to stop polluting the environment.

For good or evil, propaganda pervades our daily lives, helping to shape our attitudes on a thousand subjects. Propaganda probably determines the brand of toothpaste you use, the movies you see, the candidates you elect when you get to the polls. Propaganda works by tricking us, by momentarily distracting the eye while the rabbit pops out from beneath the cloth propaganda works best with an uncritical audience, Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister in Nazi Germany, once defined his work as “the conquest of the masses.” The masses would not have been conquered, however, they had known how to challenge and to question, how to make distinctions between propaganda and reasonable argument.

People are bamboozled mainly because they don’t recognize propaganda when they see it. They need to be informed about various devices that can be used to mislead and deceive-about the propagandist’s overflowing bag of tricks. The following, then, are some common pitfalls for the unwary.