Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)World ...

Topic Area B: Foreign Military
Bases
Statement of the Problem
Over the last century, certain countries have built
a mass network of foreign military bases. These
countries justify their actions by claiming that foreign
military bases help maintain the peace and protect
the people of nations whose rulers are ruthless
and dangerous. the former claim originates from
the principle of military deterrence while the latter
stems from the assumed need for a foreign power
to intervene when a country’s ruler decide to harm
his own people. However, these facilities have been
used to proliferate weapons, perpetuate conflicts,
and undermine international stability, as these bases
are integral to numerous wars that have been fought
in recent decades. Furthermore, these bases have
caused social and environmental problems on the
local level. The testing of weapons, high levels of
rape and violent crimes, and loss of land near the
bases have created serious social problems. Another
social and political consequence of the creation of
the bases has been the economic support of corrupt
governments. Superpowers that want to project
their powers afar will often negotiate aid packages
to developing countries in return for the rights to
operate military bases in those countries. These
lucrative aid packages not only help win business for
the superpower’s companies but also often financially
support corrupt governments and ruthless regimes.
As delegates of DISEC, you will seek to address
the economic, political, and social aspects of this
issue and develop a framework under which world
peace is maintained while mitigating the negative
consequences of foreign military bases.
History and Discussion of the Problem
The history of foreign military presence dates back
to antiquity when Greek city-states expanded and
waged wars in the 4th century B.C. in modern times,
expansionist powers such as the Venetian republic,
colonial Iberian monarchies, and the British Empire
have set up trading posts and military bases overseas
to secure vital interests and consolidate power. In the
late 1940s, the building of military bases expanded
dramatically. The Soviet Union and the United States
became the two major superpowers that vied for
global supremacy. Both states built up a global
network of military facilities in allied and satellite
countries in order to confront, encircle, or intimidate
the opposing power. 83
Each superpower’s strategies for building military
bases varied. The West, led by the U.S., adopted
a policy of containment of the Soviet Union and its
satellite states. Through a system of alliances, bilateral
agreements, and other arrangements, the U.S. began
setting up strategic bases in host countries through
europe, the Middle east, and Asia. Often relations
that were purely political and security in character
quickly developed into economic relations as well.
The U.S. would often give substantial financial aid,
provide security assistance in the form of arms
transfers, and use economic aid such as debt relief to
build relationships. 84
For the first 30 years after World War II, the Soviet
union had only a few allies outside the eurasian
heartland and limited the building of military bases
to the lands of those allies. In the 1970s, the Soviets
aggressively expanded its influence by acquiring
military facilities in various countries throughout
Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle east.
However, in the 1980s, the maintenance of these
foreign bases proved to be too economically and
politically demanding for the Soviet Union. 85
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the number of
troops and bases decreased. Russia lost or withdrew
from almost all its bases outside the former Soviet
space but kept a presence in its neighboring
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