Why is US foreign policy pulled to extreme of either doing too much or nothing at all?
The inability of U.S. foreign policy to stay effective is because America has committed itself to supporting alliances that have not proven to be mutually beneficial. Foreign assistance, which is supposed to improve the well-being of recipient countries, goes directly to small coalitions. The United States, with the fear of losing its position on the global stage, has committed itself to the conundrum of regime change which often produces little result. Countries receiving foreign aid and military assistance have no incentives to build an effective bureaucracy or judicial system because these systems can represent threats to incumbents based upon local
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On the other hand, U.S. foreign policy was pulled to do nothing good to social improvements. The ultimate goal for U.S. foreign policy is to promote democracy in recipient countries. However, this goal has failed several times. For example, America was too deeply trapped into the commitment to see the real problems of South Vietnam. According to Hilton Root, the South Vietnam government's deepest vulnerability was its failure to win the confidence of the peasantry. Like Chiang Kai-shek's loss of China, both the Diem and Thieu regimes failed to gain popular support from the rural population. Without clearly seeing the needs of the rural population, America's effort to support South Vietnam and import democracy to this country failed with the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. Furthermore, social conditions of South Vietnam were not mature enough for accepting democratic style social reforms. According to Hilton Root, there was no cultural heritage in Vietnam that can link the individual rights to the cultural legacy of the nationhood. Unlike the French and American social systems, which rest secure on social contract, the Vietnamese had no social contract and Vietnamese social identity stemmed from loyalty to family or village rather than to the nationhood. The lack of both social
Once every four years American citizens who are at least 18 years or older to vote for Presidents of the United State. The candidate who receives the most Electoral College vote wins. A president cannot serve more than two terms or eight years. President John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th president of the United States in 1961 (“John F. Kennedy”). According to the White House biography, “John F. Kennedy”, Based upon his civil right, health care, and foreign John F. Kennedy was a successful president.
Since World War II, the United States foreign policy has metastasised to a global level. The United States has taken the position as the global police. We have done countless interventions to “better” the good of the world and its people. Yet, it seems we have forgotten about Americans themselves, who have to deal with the enormous costs of these interventions. When a tyrannous dictator takes control of a country in some far flung part of the world, the United States steps in. We use American soldiers and taxpayers dollars to oust the dictator. Then when a vacuum is created we go back and fight the terrorist group which has taken over. This has happened too many times. It shows the weakness of our foreign policy system. The cost of our military, foreign interventions, and aid has gotten out of control for a country with looming debt problems. As of 2015, military spending has taken up fifty four percent of our discretionary spending, coming out to a total of $598.5 billion dollars (Nationalpriorities.org). Additionally, $195 billion is going outside the United States to fund foreign bases and aid (Politico.com). United
Of the dozens of times America has chosen to get involved in foreign countries in the last 60 years, several stand out as obvious successes, including U.S.-led interventions in Korea, Kosovo and Lebanon. In addition, there are several well-known examples of seeming failure, as well as numerous outright refusals to become involved in the affairs of another nation. Each of these – successes, failures and refusals to act – help to answer the important question of what role America should assume in coming decades.
A number of contrastive theories dominate American foreign policy operation, both in the present and in the country’s relatively brief history. Among them are exceptionalism, a long-standing, explicitly American ideal that lends us a divine purpose; expansionism, a desire to widen our borders and conquer territories; unilateralism, a freedom to engage with other countries but without formalities such as alliances or agreements; and isolationism, a hesitance to engage with other countries in any manner, to focus on domestic interests. In its brief life, America and its citizens have maintained sturdy exceptionalist mindsets and, arguably, functioned with a mostly unilateral approach. The result of the interaction between exceptionalism, expansionism, and unilateralist thought and belief has created a blurred-lines realist approach
The U.S. foreign policy was first established around the early 1900’s.This foreign policy was created in order to maintain a balance of power among nations and it is also the government’s strategy in interacting with foreign nations. America’s policy has been changing over time reflecting the change in its national interest. For Example, as a new nation after the Revolutionary War the U.S. wanted to maintain its independence from more powerful European Countries. During the time periods of 1898 to 1908 the U.S. was dealing with various problems with other countries such as wanting to take control of Hawaii. By the year 1899 the U.S. was involved in its first war in Asia. Three more follow in the course of the next century they were Japan,
On a broader scale, an important aspect to recognize is the arrogance and ignorance that has characterized many foreign policy situations. Specifically, the limited U.S involvement in Vietnam in the 1960’s did not last long. Inexperience in guerilla warfare and the U.S’s prolonged involvement caused massive casualties. Arrogance along with ignorance in the Vietnam war are the reasons why the U.S was involved for so long and resulted in the loss of innocent lives. Years later a similar situation happens with the war in Afghanistan.
The United States was once a non-interventionist nation that minded our own affairs. However, this nation is now always involved with other countries’ problems because America just cannot seem to mind its own business. The United States needs to stop getting involved in what is going on abroad frequently and start fixing problems at home because those are America’s top priority to discuss and handle. If the United States is going to consider getting involved in Foreign Affairs, the involvement should be valid and reasonable. The United States needs to significantly reduce its involvement in events abroad and mind its own business.
The United States election in 2000 raised a debate between democrat and republican and in the end the American people chose a new leader Mr. George w. Bush. President Bush clearly defined foreign policy objectives and goals. I have seen and hear our dear President Bush foreign policy after September 11. Following this, Bush has established its top priorities in foreign policy. He claims that an acts in the government to improve the international community through negotiation and cooperation. Likewise President Bush remark "It is to inspire and be inspired by other nations to work together toward a peaceful and prosperous future" (BBC News). Bush, as well as our society, feels the president should be strong- especially in international
If isolationism has become outdated, what kind of foreign policy does the United States follow, if any? In the years after World War II, the United States was guided generally by containment—the policy of keeping communism from spreading beyond the countries already under its influence. The policy applied to a world divided by the Cold War, a struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Recent events such as ongoing civil unrest in Syria, the 11 Sept 2011 Benghazi attack on our U.S. consulate, as well as the ongoing annexation in the Ukraine, are indicators the U.S. is deficient in its Foreign Policy initiatives. Accordingly, I will articulate the stated problem by determining, (a) causes of the problem, (b) providing alternate solutions, (c) selecting the best alternative and finally, how I, as the President of the United States,
The notion that we do not need foreign policy, or that it is an antiquated concept is greatly misleading. In fact, we need a strong foreign policy now more than ever. We are living at a time when the world’s geographical divides are shrinking due to ever increasing advancements in communication, technology, trade, and a strong global economic interdependence. Even though the notion that we are somehow economically dependent upon other countries is not something new for the US, we still see a strong indifference to foreign policy. In order to understand the problems, let us take a step back and examine the history of US foreign policy.
The United States of America’s economy and military is far too involved in foreign affairs. Foreign affairs are policies of a government in dealing with other countries or with activities overseas, government offices or departments. The United States has always been involved in Foreign affairs since its creation. Although foreign affairs are vital for the sake of the United States of America, the nation is becoming part of relationships and disputes that it should not be. There are many intentions of the United States Foreign Affairs. Some of the intentions are: to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and
For years America has been seen as the world’s hero swooping in and saving the day from foreign bad guys, or at least that’s America sees itself as. To many other countries however America is often seen as the world’s bully or just a nuisance. The United States has had many positive impacts on the world and those seem to over shadow the large number of negative impacts it has imposed as well. The world has been changed by the U.S. in both positive and negative ways, and this is due to the alternating use of internationalism and isolationism. Throughout the United States’ existence both foreign polices have existed, but rarely have them been used at the came time. In the present day the U.S. has mainly focused on internationalism. This has
Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States.
The United States has been a super power for decades, and since America has always involved themselves in other countries' problems. Instead of isolationism, the country has practiced getting involved. Since the Monroe Presidency, America has been named the World's police force. Dispelling anarchists, and stopping coos, the united states portrays itself as the world protector. Since Monroe, some Americans have felt that isolation is the way to go, and most feel that it is our right to offer assistance. Two recent incidents, Operation Desert Storm and The War in Bosnia have allowed the United States to show off it's strength, both on the military and political level. It has also given the chance for America to evaluate it's foreign policy,
Foreign policies big and small affect our lives in many seemingly unconnected ways. War and military interventions may grab headlines, but our actions in the international political system are much more wide reaching. Almost everyday there are trade agreements between countries and international political candidates being elected that affect our lives as US citizens as much or even more than the military actions we always see on CNN and the New York Times. Foreign policy is much more extensive than just wars and genocides, but those are the first things that jump to minds when we bring up the topic. The limited attention paid to foreign policy creates potentially damaging issues. These decisions can drastically alter our daily lives in hidden ways. Yet, we pay little attention to them outside of those that grab headlines and sell newspapers.