Pros And Cons Of Being A Good International Citizen

There is neither an agreement nor requirements to indisputably define the term ‘Good international citizen’. The term was firstly introduced by the Canadian Governor-General in 1967 during a speech reflecting on Canada’s standing in the world in its centennial year. Since then the term developed its concept, and the concept was developed in Australian case by Gareth Evans, who was the former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1988 to 1996. Evans used the phrase repeatedly in his speeches, papers and books but failed to offer clear definition of the term. Rather, he referred the term to Australian foreign policy, citing particular government practice as an example. However, to study whether Australia is a ‘Good international …show more content…
UN’s target of GNI for ODA is 0.7% and Australia is struggling to meet the target. Some argue that this is a proof of Australia is not yet meeting the requirement of being a “Good international citizen”, and the country needs to put in more effort to gain the title. The fact Australia needs to improve may be true, however not meeting UN’s targeted rate does not disqualify Australia from being a “Good international citizen”. If a nation can be treated as a “Good international citizen” only by meeting a UN target, then the title is likely to be purchased rather than gained by its effort of resolving global issues and improve standard of living. Australia may be little behind on demanded ODA, however it is a good global citizen and maintaining the citizenship through its effort of supporting less fortunate and ethics it stands …show more content…
When a country is suffering from economic issues, it is natural phenomenon that other concerns sometimes diminish. It is not favorable, but is reality. Realistically many of issues need monetary currency to be resolved; for example, to improve human rights of certain group we need as much attention as we can get. Most efficient way to get these attentions is to advertise, whether on TV or Newspapers. In a capitalistic economy we live in, we need monetary currency to do so. Therefore, assuming it is fair to say that we need currency to make changes, it is natural phenomenon that people’s interest in other issues diminishes when the hard issue of commerce intervenes. Again, this cannot be a reason to disqualify Australia from being a “Good international citizen”, as diminishment of concerns for the global issues such as human rights does not reduces Australia’s effort as a nation on improving international issues any less. If a country maintains its effort of trying, whether or not its concerns have been reduced does not affect its characteristics as a “Good international