US Foreign Policy

US Foreign Policy

Power, Peace, Prosperity and Principles in American

decision making…

Foreign Policy

• Strategies and Goals to guide a nation with other countries

• Changes with each president• All nations look to find ways to make their

country safer• Sometimes that has meant moving towards

aggressive action • Diplomacy: the attempt to negotiate with other

countries in order to solve crises

What is the International System?

Quasi-Anarchic System

• It’s a Quasi-Anarchic System• What does that mean?• No recognized central

government (No World Govt.)• “War of all Against all”…• Difficult to get the “world” to back

any specific,defined sets of laws• Attempts at controlling world

conflict and economies: UN, IMF, WTO

• To what extent do the UN, IMF and WTO serve the interests of the wealthiest states (US,Western Europe,Japan, ETC).

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Influences of US Foreign Policy

• In deciding what policies to follow, most states are influenced by the following 4 ideas known as the 4 P’s

• Power• Peace• Prosperity• Principles• They work together, and sometimes at odds

with one another.

Power • That the US should put military power at the forefront of all objectives

• Key requirement, most basic goal of US Foreign Policy decisions

• Self Defense, preservation of independence and territory

• Projection of power deters aggression• This reflects Realism= World view that emphasizes

the objective of power when a state makes decisions

• According to realists, states pursue interests, not peace. Therefore, securing Iraq for cheap oil makes logical sense.

• Many argue that military power is supreme over principles, peace and even economic prosperity. Without it, a state is weak and subject to destruction

• Sees Conflicts in the world as Inevitable and states must prepare and be vigilant

Peace

• Those that advocate negotiations for peace above all other objectives

• Also knows as International Institutionalism

• “Cultivate a garden” view of the international system..it is difficult but possible to reduce conflicts in the world much like keeping a garden in order

• The anarchy of the world system can be managed with international rules

• United Nations as institution of ‘peace’• In a sense all the P’s seek peace in that

power is meant to promote and establish peace for a nation state

• The bigger the country, usually, the more capable the country is to help ‘broker’ peace between feuding nations. Could the US establish peace in the Sudan?

Prosperity

• Putting economic interest above all other concerns

• Seek gains from low cost imports, markets for US exports and international economic opportunity

• A place to sell our stuff and receive cheap goods from overseas

• Trade policy; foreign policy with Oil countries

• WTO, IMF= attempts to control and manage the world economy

• Recent trend of putting US economic interests high on list of US objectives

• Economic goals drive US foreign policy• Examples: NAFTA-economic agreement

between US/Mexico/Canada to produce more goods at cheaper cost

Principles • Democratic Idealism• Right makes might…if you do the ‘right’

thing, you will have the might• Feeling that the US should stand for

democracy, freedom, tolerance, self government

• Critics of US foreign policy point out the failure of the US to promote principles in its foreign policy decisions

• Does it hurt the US to choose power or prosperity over principles?

• Case studies: Somalia (operation Just Hope), Guatemala (Removal of President Arbenz), Chile (coup of 1973)

Iraq: Quagmire

or Democracy

?

• Overwhelming military victory: projection of US power on the battlefield

• 1/3 the troops used as in 1991• Regime change• US uses: technology; special operation for

success• However, Bush Doctrine of pre-emption

clearly meant to project power also creates a policy of ‘who’s next’? North Korea and Iran begin/finish developing WMD’s to stall a US invasion

• Winning the Peace: the real task is to instill peace in Iraq. The prospect has been dwindling since the successful January elections. Can the US military power translate into economic prosperity and democracy?

• What is the current issue with Iraq?

Post 9-11 World• Allows for single defining US agenda: Fight Terrorism• 1990’s Osama Bin Laden had attacked a number of US outlets

(USS Cole, Kenya embassy)• Why did they attack? • Osama was backed by the CIA to stop the USSR in Afghanistan• Unhappy with US presence in the Middle East, failure of the

technological advances of the West to help usher in prosperity for the globe

• Today’s agendas:• Regional conflicts still large part of atrocities• Darfur, Colombia, Afghanistan and Iraq are experiencing civil

conflicts today• WTO and prosperity: failure of the wealthy countries to enhance the

wealth of all nations (Global North V. Global South)• How are the 4 P’s incorporated into the US War on Terror?

What exactly is the Bush Doctrine?

• Pre-emptive use of military action before an enemy attacks

• Willingness of US to unleash military action against opposing countries based upon intelligence.

• Previously, it took a military action to warrant ‘self defense’

• Countries focused on: Iran, Syria, North Korea, Libya

• Problem: attacking a country based on intelligence can be specious (deceptively attractive). Look at the ‘proof’ Saddam had WMD’s before the US invasion of Iraq

• Bush Doctrine argues that the US has the right to attack a country to deter an attack before it occurs

Why did 9-11

occur?

• Blowback: unintended consequences of US Foreign Policy

• US support of Israel seen as immoral to many fundamentalist Muslims

• US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia during 1st Gulf war seen as offensive to members of Al-Qaeda

• Israel’s attack on Lebanon in 1983 has also been tied to Al-Qaeda’s desire to retaliate for anti-Muslim atrocities

Why did 9-11 occur?• Bin Laden accused Bush of misleading Americans by saying

the attack was carried out because al-Qaida "hates freedom." The terrorist leader said his followers have left alone countries that do not threaten Muslims."We fought you because we are free ... and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours," bin Laden said.

• He said he was first inspired to attack the United States by the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon in which towers and buildings in Beirut were destroyed in the siege of the capital."While I was looking at these destroyed towers in Lebanon, it sparked in my mind that the tyrant should be punished with the same and that we should destroy towers in America, so that it tastes what we taste and would be deterred from killing our children and women," he said.

80 years of humiliation

• After World War I, the Middle East was divided and cut apart by Britain. The US has been implicated in taking over the mantle for the British after World War II and thus inherited the unique position of continuing what some see as unjust regimes in the need for oil flow.

Future of US Foreign Policy• Go it alone nature of the Bush Administration seems to have run its

course• Need for allies• Recent activity in the ‘Arab Spring’ suggests more reliance on allies

(France in Libya)• Economic pressure still viable (Sanction on Iran going ‘nuclear’)• Yet Obama Admin has kept in place much of the framework begun

under Bush (Guantanamo Bay, increased troops in Afghanistan, use of drones for targeting suspected terrorists)

• Empire of Bases--nearly 800 set up in the world• Militarism, empire and economics versus representative democracy.

Roman Example---See ‘Imperial Presidency’ for further explanation • Future of United States power--> is it waning? Is it in decline? What is

the next stage?