Final answer:
Enforcing global treaties is challenging due to the lack of a global executive authority, power politics, national self-interest, and competition among countries. Powerful states may choose to enforce or ignore international laws based on their interests, undermining efforts at global governance. This is exemplified by the hesitation of nations like the US, Russia, and China to fully acknowledge the authority of international bodies like the ICC.
Step-by-step explanation:
Global treaties are sometimes difficult to enforce due to various challenges that nations face. The absence of a global executive authority to enforce international laws means that powerful states often decide whether to enforce these laws based on their own interests and power imbalances. This can lead to selective compliance and power politics, where powerful states are more likely to bypass consequences for noncompliance than weaker states. Additionally, international law requires countries to adjust their domestic policies, but without a strong enforcement mechanism, states may fail to uphold their commitments as outlined in global agreements such as the Paris Climate Accord or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Another contributing factor to the difficulty of enforcing global treaties is competition between countries, as national leaders are primarily focused on optimizing their own country's prosperity. This can undermine collective efforts to address global challenges, such as climate change, because if some nations take action that benefits the global community, others may exploit these actions for their own gain, leading to an undercutting of the collective effort.
The case of the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC) illustrates this challenge with powerful nations like the United States, Russia, and China showing reluctance to recognize the ICC. Their concerns about state sovereignty and potential misuse of the ICC illustrate the tension between national interests and global governance.