Finally, the term “appeasement” is frequently used to disparage diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear program. Many commentators on the right have argued, for example, that North Korea is a bad country that does illegal things and therefore offering any kind of carrot to induce the North Koreans to stop doing these things would be “appeasement” encouraging more behavior—as if a sovereign nation should be treated like an errant child. As already mentioned above, the concept of illegality that lies behind this assessment is of limited applicability. Moreover, because the right of self defense is the most fundamental right of a sovereign nation, measures a country takes to implement that right can easily be argued to supercede almost any other obligation. Even if a supranational body like the United Nations deemed that North Korea shouldn’t have nuclear weapons, say, the North Koreans could cite their inalienable right to self defense as justification for such weapons, undermining the legitimacy of even UN claims of illegality. Nations acting in self-defense, in fact, are almost impossible to legitimately punish.[7] For this reason, negotiations between nations involve give and take, carrots and sticks. If all carrots are called “appeasement”, however, one is left without the ability to offer inducements (positive sanctions) in order to gain compliance. This makes diplomacy almost impossible. States could try to get other states to do what they want through threats. But when we had a system based on the use of threats in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wars were very frequent. The frequency of devastating wars, in fact, is what led to the development of the present international system with the United Nations serving as an international forum, and national sovereignty guaranteed. Going back to the earlier system not only would lead to numerous wars, but these wars would now be fought with weapons of almost unimaginable destructiveness. A system lacking positive sanctions does not seem to be one that would increase world security in the long run.