UN Foreign legion?
- Thread starter docfl
- Start date
No, there would be a lot of member states which would be unwilling to give citizenship to a random foreigner because he had served in such a military organization. You need some countries to sponsor it, or create a unique UN citizenship which gave some special rights. Maybe beside the headquarter in New York UN leased some unpopulated area from another state, where they established a city which functioned as a administrative centre and where these soldiers could retire. The question is where such a area could be leased?
Worst nightmare of nativists, hyper patriots, and isolationists in any nation.
The passport thing perhaps could be arranged with per-country quotas, but I'm not sure it would work in practical terms. Such a corps might not be numerically sufficient at times and might not have all the specialties required for each different mission.
On the other hand, if member countries only had to contribute funds and perhaps materiel, interventions would become more palatable, politically.
On the other hand, if member countries only had to contribute funds and perhaps materiel, interventions would become more palatable, politically.
Sometime around 1977, under a General Assembly resolution, it gets sent to make a Palestine that is free, from the river to the sea, and gets utterly annihilated by the IDF.
Any kind of unified UN armed forces would assuredly be under the control of the Security Council, not the General Assembly. In fact it was intended that such an organization exist, kind of (more in the vein of forces "donated" by the P5), and a staff council was set up to run it, but the Cold War naturally prevented those plans from coming into fruition.
If the permanent security council wanted a standing UN army they would fund it. But they don't because they prefer keeping the UN toothless and needing permission for every force commitment.
If such a unit were to exist it probably wont offer citizenship and be more like the Gurkha brigades, entire battalions recruited from a single low income country. They troops will be well paid by the standard of their country and sign up for very long contracts. The Gurkhas used to join for 15 years, nowadays they are given the choice of a 22 year career and they all take it.
If such a unit were to exist it probably wont offer citizenship and be more like the Gurkha brigades, entire battalions recruited from a single low income country. They troops will be well paid by the standard of their country and sign up for very long contracts. The Gurkhas used to join for 15 years, nowadays they are given the choice of a 22 year career and they all take it.
Never. The worst case scenario from the POV of any country, and in particular of any country that isn't one of the big five, is not one of the big five would be that such a force exists, doesn't need to be borrowed from national armies, is obviously under the control of the Security Council, and by some stroke of luck there is an issue where the big five are in agreement.
So that an international foreign legion answerable only to the Security Council gets fielded to, say, Serbia at the time of the Kosovo war.
That would be obviously bad news for Serbia (that's the country that isn't one of the big five, in this case), but on top of that none of the big five would ever be entirely happy with this, because the legion has to be commanded by committee, a committee in which you don't count just on more or less pliant allies (like in the NATO/OTAN). You'd have to convince the Russians and the Chinese about every military decision.
Simultaneously, the legion isn't tied to any one country, unlike the borrowed UN forces of OTL.
A nightmare for any sovereign country. So, since nobody wants that, it does not exist and won't anytime soon.
So that an international foreign legion answerable only to the Security Council gets fielded to, say, Serbia at the time of the Kosovo war.
That would be obviously bad news for Serbia (that's the country that isn't one of the big five, in this case), but on top of that none of the big five would ever be entirely happy with this, because the legion has to be commanded by committee, a committee in which you don't count just on more or less pliant allies (like in the NATO/OTAN). You'd have to convince the Russians and the Chinese about every military decision.
Simultaneously, the legion isn't tied to any one country, unlike the borrowed UN forces of OTL.
A nightmare for any sovereign country. So, since nobody wants that, it does not exist and won't anytime soon.
Maybe Dag Hammarskjold survives and starts pursuing a more active role for the UN. This unit is nicknamed the "Hammershields".
A UN Foreign Legion raises several problems.
First it reduces the influence of First-World nations. OTL UN missions thrive or collapse based on how many soldiers a First-World nation is willing to send.
Secondly, it reduces OTL disparity between UN Peacekeeping forces. OTL First-World armies "go heavy" to UN missions. They bring all their electronics, intelligence officers, medics, hospitals, field engineers, supply chain, etc. FWN always lose money on UN missions. FWN usually bring 98% of their soldiers home.
OTOH Third World Nations rarely send more than light infantry conscripts. They borrow trucks, helicopters, medics, etc. from FW peacekeepers. In the worst-case, TWN send non-combatant troops on UN missions, where they are almost useless.
P. S. FWN and TWN peacekeepers get paid the same. Funny how TW peacekeepers extort money from the locals they were sent to protect. TWN colonels always return home fatter than before?????????
First it reduces the influence of First-World nations. OTL UN missions thrive or collapse based on how many soldiers a First-World nation is willing to send.
Secondly, it reduces OTL disparity between UN Peacekeeping forces. OTL First-World armies "go heavy" to UN missions. They bring all their electronics, intelligence officers, medics, hospitals, field engineers, supply chain, etc. FWN always lose money on UN missions. FWN usually bring 98% of their soldiers home.
OTOH Third World Nations rarely send more than light infantry conscripts. They borrow trucks, helicopters, medics, etc. from FW peacekeepers. In the worst-case, TWN send non-combatant troops on UN missions, where they are almost useless.
P. S. FWN and TWN peacekeepers get paid the same. Funny how TW peacekeepers extort money from the locals they were sent to protect. TWN colonels always return home fatter than before?????????
Since the whole point of a FOREIGN Legion is that they're not your people, a UN Foreign Legion would have to hire ETs, well, or Swiss, I guess. Anyone else NOT in the UN?
Thank you, now I'm imagining various famous fictional alien species wearing UN Peacekeeper outfits... Xenomorphs, Predators, little gray men, Klingons....
Anaxagoras
Banned
This has been seriously proposed. Here is a 1997 New York Times editorial in support of the idea.
They wouldn't have the money for it; the UN's total budget from 2012 to 2013 was a measly $5.512 billion. There's dozens of businessmen with more money than that. Even if you devoted all of that money towards building up a military force, it's still not really enough to maintain any sizable armed force that's worth a damn (for comparison, Kuwait's total military budget was $6.3 billion in 2016). Even if it did somehow get constituted, deployments would probably have to be approved by the UNSC so if one permanent member like the PRC or the UK objects, then the deployment doesn't end up happening.
Last edited: