...The works “Preventive War and Democratic Politics”, “Democratization and the Danger of War”, “Terrorism, the Use of Force, and International Law After 11 September”, and “Failed States: Fixing a Broken World” all describe and aim to formulate the motivations for modern wars between two states. By using historical precedents, each author makes assertions about war theory, leaving the reader with a framework to analyze conflicts occurring in the world today. While each entry makes a unique assumption, the content of arguments invariably overlaps. In my response I will examine each piece and the questions I was left with after contemplating the implications of their respective theories. In “Preventive War and Democratic Politics”, Levy first distinguishes preemptive wars from preventive wars, claiming that the former involves an immediate threat to a state’s safety while the latter is determined by the presence of a non-immediate threat—often an adversary “crossing a particular threshold of military power, leading to a stop-level power shift” (Levy, 7). He goes on to discuss that since the advent of nuclear military developments, the majority of wars have been preventive. This argument is logical because as the stakes are raised, states have the responsibility to their constituents to mitigate threats; citizens are much more willing to tolerate smaller skirmishes than risk the threat of an over-militarization of another state with different social and political values, beliefs...
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...THE DRAGON: AUSTRALIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA DURING THE HOWARD ERA PROPOSAL INTRODUCTION On consecutive days in October 2003, President George W Bush of the United States of America and President Hu Jintao of People’s Republic of China addressed joint sittings of both houses of the Australian Parliament. This historic occasion symbolises how Australia conducted its foreign relations with ‘East’ and ‘West’ during the Howard Era. The pragmatic decision to allow Hu Jintao to become the first non-American foreigner to address both houses demonstrates how Howard viewed Sino-Australian relations. It showed the world that it was possible to have warm relations with both the United States and China. By the end of the Howard Era in 2007, China had become Australia’s major trading partner. This was a far cry from 1996, when in the first months of the newly elected Howard Government a series of events caused severe tensions in Sino-Australian relations, as described below. This culminated in the Chinese response of banning visits to China by Australian ministers, a serious manoeuvre in the nuanced world of diplomacy. From these frosty beginnings, the relationship between the two nations strengthened considerably, for a variety of reasons, some of them outside Australia’s control. Paul Keating may have sown the seeds to Australia’s ‘pivot’ to Asia, but it was the Howard Government that undertook the most significant shift in orientation, cumulating in the historic addresses...
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...handed on for them to do the same.” - Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He was President from 1981 to 1989. He played a major role in ending the Cold war. He strengthened the military. To defeat the Communists he used force where as many former presidents had used appeasement. One of his speeches helped influence the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Through his domestic affairs he stimulated the economy. He enacted many tax and budget cuts. Unemployment also dropped. Both Ronald and Nancy Reagan started an anti-drug campaign. This led Ronald Reagan to pass an act with tight enforcement on drug laws that backfired. The...
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...President of the United States of America, but the battle he started between idealists and realists is still prevalent today. The continuous struggle between these two conflicting perspectives is evident when comparing and contrasting international foreign affairs from one president to the next, and even when examining multiple different foreign policy decisions made under the same administration. There is bountiful evidence of the existence of this battle when simply examining the multitude of foreign policy decisions made throughout the duration of Barack Obama’s two terms as President of the United States. The battle that Wilson began in the early 1900’s between...
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...Arnold A. Offner writes “The Origins of the Second World War” in order to examine the responsibilities, possibilities, and limitations of America’s international policies during the interwar years. Throughout this book, Offner introduces the readers to a new idea that states America may not have fought in the war until 1941, but America was a huge contributor before and during the beginning. He asserts that the way the United States handled international affairs between 1916 and 1940 played a huge role in the starting of another war to “end all wars”. Moreover, he accomplishes this feat by presenting each explanation in a way that all possible “causes” of the war seem as important or unimportant as the rest. Ultimately, Germany may have been blamed for World War II, but not a single great- or rising- power was innocent. Offner supports his idea using treaties and conventions that occurred between the years 1917 and 1941 that illustrate the foreign and...
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...The New World Order: Not Built in a Day Luke Nosko 2011-04-02 David Tabachnick Word Count: 3028 The end of the Cold War, marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union, was the beginning of an unprecedented geopolitical scenario in modern times, namely the existence of a lone superpower nation which easily dominated the other countries of the world in terms of military strength and international economic and political influence. With this never-before-seen position of power in the modern, globalized world came the heightened importance of American foreign policy decisions, and the world waited to see how the US would react to being thrust abruptly into this role of the unipole of world power. The first test of US foreign policy as the sole superpower would actually come before the official dissolution of the USSR (though it had been in steep economic decline for some time), when Saddam Hussein lead the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. US President George H. W. Bush would place this conflict into perspective for the countries now looking to the US for leadership in his address to a joint session of Congress and the nation on September 11, 1990, and it was then that he most famously claimed that the US would strive to establish and protect the concept of a New World Order (NWO): “We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these...
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...Civilizations “The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in utilizing organized violence. Westerners often dismiss this fact, non-Westerners never do.” Samuel P. Huntington, Eaton professor of the science of government and director of the John M. Olin Institute for strategic studies at Harvard, wrote a thought-provoking article; “The Clash of Civilizations” was published by Foreign Affairs in the summer of 1993. (Foreign Affairs). Huntington’s article given in nine topics, gives the reader a big-picture look at the world which nerved to imagine that a bi-polar rivalry between communism and capitalism was about to be reinstated by a multi-polar world of contradicting civilizations. He argues that the short-term warfare between ideologies is being replaced by the ancient warfare between civilizations. People’s cultural and religious identities will result in future conflicts. Huntington cautions that all this proposes that there will be cultural clangorings in the future. He says the troubling ones "are likely to arise from the interplay of Western arrogance, Islamic intolerance, and assertiveness." This is indeed a debated statement. Such clangoring’s are by no means an evident necessity, after all. Neither is it at all apparent that in the lack of such exterior issues, Western society would not have very uncompromising internal complications with absolutism and wars. I. The Next Pattern of Conflict: ...
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...1 The Foundations of International Society 2013-2014 Part I: Politics 2 (International Relations I) Paper organiser: Professor Christopher Hill (POLIS): Room 105, Alison Richard Building Email: cjh68@cam.ac.uk Lecturers: Professor Hill (CH), Dr Elisabetta Brighi (EB), Dr Aaron Rapport (AR) and Dr Stefano Recchia (SR). Aims and Objectives The course aims to introduce students to the subject of International Relations (IR), whose main focus is the nature of politics at the international level. Students will acquire the empirical and conceptual foundations needed to understand a world political system which cannot be accurately described as either pure anarchy or a coherent form of ‘global governance’. The starting point is the notion of ‘international society’, which refers to the set of institutions and common procedures generated by states over the last three and a half centuries in their attempts to achieve some minimal form of co-existence, but which has gradually evolved to include many non-state actors and different levels of activity – diplomatic, economic and cultural, as well as that of military competition. By the end of the course you should be able to have an informed discussion about: the historical origins of the present system; what is distinctive about international politics as opposed to politics inside the state; and the main challenges which confront humanity in the twenty-first century. You will also acquire a basic familiarity with the main theories needed...
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...History Policeman of the World The US Military conflict in Iraq started when the United States invaded Iraq. It was followed by long period of fighting to combat the occupying forces and the newly formed Iraqi government. The reason for the invasion on Iraq was, the US believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and presented a threat to US security and after the bombing of the twin towers in New York. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was also accused of sheltering and aiding al-Qaeda but no evidence was ever found to prove that. Other stated reasons for the invasion of Iraq was Iraq's financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Iraqi government human rights abuses and an effort to spread democracy to the country. Later after investigating it was concluded that Iraq had already ended its nuclear, chemical and biological programs in 1991 and had no active programs at the time of the invasion, but that they envisioned resuming activities if the Iraq sanctions were lifted. However, when public favored increasingly for the withdrawals of the troops from Iraq and as Iraqi forces started to take responsibility for security, member nations of the Coalition withdrew their forces. Later, the U.S. decided to completely withdraw military personnel from Iraq in December 2011. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US, the US military has been continuously intervening the internal affairs Afghanistan from 2001 until...
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...The impact of domestic determinants on foreign policy has long been a widely debated topic in the field of international relations, and foreign policy analysis in particular. Some scholars argue that domestic politics and foreign policy are two independent arenas of issues. Others believe that the two respective issues do not stop at the water’s edge. Foreign policy and domestic politics are interdependent and could spill over into each other. While both schools of scholars make some convincing arguments about their respective cases, it’s probably reasonable to expect that the degree of influence between domestic and international determinants of foreign policy is contingent on different foreign policy contexts. In some cases, international factors play a more important role, whereas in other cases, domestic reasons are more important. In this presentation, I put forth a conglomeration and an intellectual web analysis in examining the domestic determinants of national foreign policy. Prior to reaching this goal a definition offered by Webber and smith in 2000 on foreign policy is stipulated. The interpretation of domestic determinants as illustrated by Sulliban is furthermore encapsulated. According to Webber and Smith, A country's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will...
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...that “everyone in the world” are entitled to enjoy. These four freedoms are: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. Although this speech was given almost a year before Americans involvement in WWII, it set the tone for how Americans will view foreign affairs from that day forward. From the end of World War I until the United States involvement in World War II the United States held a position of non-intervention in foreign affairs. Even as World War II raged on in Europe, the United States held off sending American combat solders until December 7, 1941, the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The very next day the United States declared war on Japan and changed how its non-intervention policies for good. With Nazi Germany, Japan and the rest of the Axis powers defeated, World War II came to a close in 1945. From the rubble emerged the United States, by far the world’s greatest super power. The United States had the world’s most powerful military, accounted for half the world’s manufacturing and possessed the world’s only atomic bomb. They now had the opportunity to give the world Roosevelt’s four freedoms. Knowing that for their capitalistic government to continue to succeed and grow there needed to be a global economic reconstruction. Simply put, capitalism requires free trade to grow and the other countries of the world were in economic turmoil and in no position to freely trade. Establishing the United Nations, World Bank and enacting the...
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...Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are two extraordinary men that symbolize the hope and ambition of American people during such a tumultuous time in United States history. Both of these men held leadership qualities, had strong views for America, and held exceptional ideas on a foreign policy. Theodore Roosevelt went into head of office on September 19, 1901 when President William McKinley was assassinated. He was the youngest man to become president. His motto was "speak softly but carry a big stick." He came into power with remarkable ideas including the square deal. He would take the power away from industrialists while he controlled big business in the White House. He would soon become known as a Trust-buster. Roosevelt used American power for American interests and was quoted, "I am an American first and last." Although some historians argue that Roosevelt acted like a six-year-old throughout his presidency and that he didn't think things through, we can admire his magnificent leadership qualities. He was a very audacious man who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. The average citizen was aware of what a "positive, warm, tough, imposing and funny" president that they had leading them. His leadership qualities stemmed from his time as a New York state Assembly man, a deputy sheriff, a president of the Little Missouri Stockman's Association, United States Civil Service Commissioner, Police...
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...Military incidents involving the United States military internationally, over the past five years, has had some impact on the American public and how it affects the United States. The wars in Japan and Syria have brought about some controversy in foreign policy with the military acting as the world’s police. I. International Events – Foreign Policy A. Japan and China (Senkaku/ Diaoyu Islands) 1. New policy for airlines and flight plans 2. Unexpected occurrence of accidents in airspace 3. Rightful owner of Diaoyu / Senkaku 4. Incident with Chinese vessel and U.S. warship B. Incidents of American servicemen raping Japanese children in 1995 and 2008 1. 2009 the Guam international agreement signed 2. Removal of 8,000 U.S. troops 3. Ways to strengthen security and defense C. U.S. and Syria chemical weapons 1. Inactivity threatens the middle east 2. International inspectors destroy chemicals 3. Geneva agreement II. Aspects that led to U.S. rise as a world super power A. Victory over Spain in the Spanish American war B. Cuba gained independence from Spain C. U.S. gained possession of Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico III. International incidents since WWII Americans take a policing role A. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor B. Attacks on U.S. diplomatic compounds in Middle East C. U.S. and Korean conflict 1950 IV. Driving forces that fueled international incidents A. NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization B. San Francisco Treaty 1. Base military personnel...
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...leadership, under President Xi Jinping, has decided that it would like to become more active and ‘do more’ in the international realm. How much more, in reality, will undoubtedly be influenced by the reactions of others and the unfolding of events—both domestic and global—but undoubtedly there is an intention on the part of Beijing to make good on its increase in relative power and the opportunities that a more centralized leadership under President Xi Jinping provides for articulating a clearer foreign policy message and more forward foreign policy behaviour. This article provides evidence in support of the argument that China has decided to adopt a more activist foreign policy. It focuses predominantly on China’s policy towards the United Nations as a way of demonstrating a new willingness to take decisions previously left in abeyance, and as an example of a policy area where the Chinese leadership believes it is showing a desire and an ability to contribute to global public goods. In particular, I explain here why the UN is favoured by China as a venue for displaying a more globalist stance, focusing on the UN’s institutional design and on China’s longstanding involvement in peace operations as the primary sources of the country’s increased activism in a multilateral venue of high importance to it. *...
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...Imperialism? “Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism…characterized by monopoly corporations and the compulsion to export capital abroad for higher profits. Unlike capitalism in the earlier stages, in the imperialist stage, capitalism has no more progress to bring the world…the cause of contemporary militarism” – Lenin “The policy, practice, or advocacy of seeking, or acquiescing in, the extension of the control, dominion, or empire of a nation, as by the acquirement of new, esp. distant, territory or dependencies, or by the closer union of parts more or less independent of each other for operations of war, copyright, internal commerce, etc.” – Oxford dictionary The word imperialism derives from “empire.” As such, it is useful to spend a bit of time to define the word. In working towards a minimal definition, Stanford Professor of Archaeology J. Manning in his first lecture on Ancient Empires starts with: “An empire is a territorially extensive hierarchically political organization.” Unfortunately this definition is too vague. All states encountered in human history are by definition hierarchical, and many nations today are vast compared to the empires of the ancient world. Thus, Manning rephrases his definition of empire to be: “A territorially extensive hierarchical political organization involving the rule of one or more groups over other groups of foreigners.” But what causes empire? There are two models worth explaining. One is originated by...
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