American Foreign & Defense Policy

Early Thoughts…

Sam Adams• “Even when there is a necessity of military

power…a wise and prudent people will always have a watchful eye over it”

Early Thoughts…

Elbridge Gerry• “standing armies in time of peace are

inconsistent with the principles of republican governments, dangerous to the liberties of a free people, and generally converted into destructive engines for establishing despotism”

Early Thoughts…

Alexander Hamilton• “a dangerous and expensive undertaking”

Early Thoughts…

James Madison• A standing military force…will not long be

safe companions to liberty. The means of defense against foreign danger have always been the instruments of tyranny at home.

Civil-Military Problematique

The very thing that is designed to protect a polity can become its greatest threat

Civil-Military Problematique

The very thing that is designed to protect a polity can become its greatest threat

Solutions?

The Reality of Foreign Policy

Early U.S. Foreign Policy was a mixture of• Realism (Pursuing American Interests) and• Idealism (Carrying Out American Ideals)

with a strong rejection of traditional Imperialism.

• Instances of Realism:• Barbary Wars (1801 – 1805; 1815)• Louisiana Purchase (1803)• War of 1812• U.S. Mexican War (1846 – 1848)

Interests Win #1: The Barbary Wars

• Ideal: Not having an external military presence

• Event: North African Berber States captured U.S. ships for slaves and ransom.

• Problematic: In 1800, more than 15% of the federal budget was used for tribute payments.

• Action: Improve the U.S. Navy

Interests Win #2: The Louisiana Purchase

• Ideal: The President should be passive

• Event: French offer to sell Louisiana to U.S.

• Practical Goals: Get Europeans out – and avoid entanglement in European conflicts• Washington’s Farewell Address• The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

• Problematic: This was a huge opportunity, too good to pass up

A Case for Pragmatism: The Louisiana Purchase

Action: Jefferson makes the Purchase

Interests Win #3: The War of 1812

• Chesapeake – Leopard Affair

• Despite clear political interests, a sense of humiliation contributed to the U.S. declaration of war against the United Kingdom.

Ideals Win #1: The Quest for Mexican Oil

• Interest: The United States needed petroleum

• Event: Mexico nationalizes petroleum industry in 1938, making it harder to get oil, and British wanted to invade

• Tempting: Seized oil will be cheaper

• Problematic: Seizure violates the ideal of voluntary trade

• Idealistic Action: The U.S. restrains Great Britain and negotiates oil trade with Mexico

Ideals Win #2: The Suez Canal Controversy

• Interest: The United States want to keep global trade going.

• Event: Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal in 1956, potentially choking off 10% of global trade; Britain, Israel and France invade.

• Tempting: Western control would be more convenient

• Problematic: Seizure violates the ideal of Good Neighbor policy

• Idealistic Action: The U.S. restrains military action

Also a Conflict between Politics and the People

• Politicians like Wilson knew that the public dislikes Interventionism – making it difficult to balance interests and ideals

1916 Campaign on Peace Prepare for War

Joining the Rest of the World – the End of Isolationism

• Beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt – the United States reevaluate their role in the World:

• Political Elites start to see Isolationism as problematic

• The United States have a shared responsibility for mankind

• U.S. Power as a force for good in the World

• Switch from Quincy Adams "Americans should not go abroad to slay dragons they do not understand in the name of spreading democracy“ – to Idealism

The American Century

• 1945 puts the Unites States into a position of unique opportunity:• First, a global power shift from

• With the defeat of Fascism, the World is split between the U.S. led West and the Communist Block under the Soviet Union (behind the “Iron Curtain”).

VS.

Full Engagement replaces Isolationism

• With the exception of the United States, the Industrial World laid in ruins after WWII.

• Used power to build institutions to preserve global peace:• The United Nations (UN)• The World Bank• The International Monetary Fund (IMF)• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT), which became the World Trade Organization (WTO)

• The Marshall Plan

• Engagement should replace War.

This Policy led to mixed results

Some initiatives were clearly a success:• The reconstruction of Europe• Globalization• The prevention of Nuclear War• Victory in the Cold War• “Idealistic” Wars – Humanitarian Intervention

(Middle East, Balkans,…)

Others, however, were less successful:• No Third World War, but a Third World’s War• Instability due to rapid decolonization

American Hegemony ruled the day

• No decision on a global scale can be made without U.S. consent.

• The U.S. are the only state that can almost immediately project power (military, political, economic) everywhere on the globe

• In short: From refusing to join the World System, the United States became its main proponent

• The U.S. are (were?) the global “Ordnungsmacht – the Order Maker

Being the World’s superpower comes at a price!

• Strong military buildup

Ultimately, on what does U.S. Power rest?

• Is it this?

Or this?

• No, the answer to this question is in everyone’s pocket.

The true source of American Power

More than just a currency!

• Backed up by the power of the U.S. economy

• Ticket to economic security (global reserve currency)

Made possible by the strength of the U.S. Economy

U.S. Power is waning

• Economic power is declining:

• From being the world’s biggest creditor, beginning with the seventies the nation became the world’s biggest debtor.

• By 2020, the U.S. will spend more on debt interest than on its military.

• By 2015, Interest payments to China alone will cover the cost of the Chinese army.

If Money drains, Power drains

• U.S. dependence on others reduces its ability to act as the global order maker.

• It will become harder to push for American ideals like

• Democracy• Human Rights • Capitalism

on a global scale.