Interpreting US Foreign Policy (I)

1. Interpreting US Foreign Policy (I)

2. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • Security threats to the US • Global weapon proliferation • WMD & terrorist groups • WMD & rouge states • Disease of Mass Destruction (DMD) • SARS • Avian Influenza • Threats are real at home • 1993 World Trade Center bombing • 2001 Terrorist attacks • Security threats affect daily lives of Americans • Enhanced security check at airport • Potential impact on civil liberties

3. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • Economic Interdependence • Increasing share of GDP from foreign trade • > 10% in 1960 • > 25% in 2006 • Int’l division of labor & US employment • Outsourcing production • Dependence on foreign consumer goods • Foreign currency exchange rates • Trade deficits & undervalued foreign currency • Foreign investment • FDI (foreign direct investment) & growth • Growth rate & employment

4. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • US & Global Society • Foreign domestic politics impact USA • Foreign environmental mismanagement • China’s desertification & sand storm • Foreign wildlife mismanagement • China’s wildlife survival crisis & SARS • Foreign farm animal welfare crisis • Threat of global spread of avian influenza • Poverty & immigration issue • Border security & relations with Mexico

5. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • Ethnic diversity of American society • Foreign born Americans & their ethnic culture • “Little Italy,” “Little Havana,” “China Town” • Foreign culture impact mainstream life • Foreign cuisine impacts American eating habit • Foreign arts & cultural products infiltrate American society • Jackie Chen & Chinese martial arts • Pokemon cards, hello kitty & American youth • Understanding foreign culture = understanding own culture

6. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • US Preeminence in World Politics • Only superpower • Enormous political influence • American democracy serves to inspire … • Superior military capability • Global presence and global reach • Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina • Japan, South Korea, Germany, Cuba, … • Extensive diplomatic engagement • North Korea, Iran & weapons proliferation issue • Israel-Palestine conflict • Economic might • China rising on ferocious American appetite for Chinese goods

7. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • US Preeminence in World Politics • Only superpower • Economic might • China rising on ferocious American appetite for Chinese goods • American tourists enrich Caribbean & other destinations • Popularity of American products overseas • American cigarettes, cars, McDonalds, KFC, Coca-cola • American citizens & foreign policy • Informed citizens exert influence via • Elections • Lobbying, protest, demonstrations, …

8. Why Study US Foreign Policy? • US Moral Obligations • Human tragedies remain around the world • Human rights violation • Murder as a policy tool in the Balkans • Genocide & mass starvation • Informed citizens help US respond to global humanitarian crisis

9. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Objectives of US Foreign Policy • Foreign policies are made in the name of national interest • Four core goals/elements of national interest (the “4 Ps” framework) • Power • Peace • Prosperity • Principles A particular policy can be seen to pursue one, several or all of the “Ps.”

10. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Power as the objective • A most basic goal since power : • Is key to a strong defense and credible deterrence • Enhances influence over other actors • Advances own interest and aggressiveness. • Realists perception • “International politics is a struggle for power.” • Competition and conflicts are constant • Cooperation among states is limited • The world is a self-help system; it is “jungle” • States pursue power enlargement for survival.

11. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Power as the objective • Realists perception • Indicators of a realist foreign policy • Coercive diplomacy • Big military spending • alliance against a mutual enemy • Peace as the objective • Perception of International institutionalism • World politics is “a cultivable ‘garden’” • Cooperation is possible and reduces tensions. • Diplomacy works better than military means • International institutions serve to sustain cooperation

12. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Peace as the objective • Perception of International institutionalism • Anarchy cannot be eliminated; but can be tempered or regulated via int’l organizations, negotiations, treaties. • Indicators of a peace-oriented policy • Acting as “peace broker” • “shuttle diplomacy” in the Mideast by Dr. Kissinger • The Camp David accord between Egypt and Israel in 1978 • The 1995 Dayton accord ending the war in Bosnia • Diplomacy over military means • US participation in the “six-party” talk on North Korea

13. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Prosperity as the objective Two schools of thought • Capitalist free trade economic thinking Foreign policy: • serves the general economic interest of the nation • Strives for a favorable balance of trade • Pursues a strong growth • Maintains a healthy macro economy Reflections in foreign policy: • Granting of most favored nation status • Support of free trade

14. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Prosperity as the objective Two schools of thought • Capitalist free trade economic thinking Reflections in foreign policy • Signing int’l agreements related to int’l trade • Supporting int’l econ organizations, e.g., GATT, IMF, WTO • Theories of imperialism & neo-colonialism • US foreign policy: • Serves the parochial interest of the rich such as • Multinational corporations and banks • Continues domination of the less developed nations thru economic means

15. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • Principles as the objective This goal involves the values, ideals, and beliefs that the US has claimed to stand for in the world. • The perception of democratic idealism • “Right” should always stand above “might” as a policy choice since America is morally unique and “exceptional” • Promoting democracy around the world serves the interest of promoting peace because democracies do not fight among themselves • Indications of a principle-oriented policy • Ascendance of human rights as a policy factor • Sanctions imposed on Communist states

16. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case American-Iranian Relations (1953-1979) See handout 1. Interpreting US Iran policy objective 1. Pursuit of Power • Iranian oil needed to sustain American economic power • Alliance with Iran enhanced US power in Cold War years • US support of the Shah ensured American influence & presence in the Persian Gulf region The US was strategically superior in Mideast to USSR.

17. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case American-Iranian Relations (1953-1979) See handout 1. Interpreting US Iran policy objective • Pursuit of Peace • US intervention was necessary to stabilize Iran & Mideast. • Intimate relations with US deterred Soviet aggression in Iran and Mideast. • When Mideast was stable, USSR had no reason to disrupt peace in that region. A stable Mideast served the interest of peace between the two major military blocks.

18. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case American-Iranian Relations (1953-1979) See handout 1. Interpreting US Iran policy objective • Pursuit of Prosperity (I) • US prosperity requires extensive foreign economic relations • Increasing consumption of foreign raw materials calls for stable trade relations • Iranian oil helps fuel sustained growth in the US American prosperity benefits the entire society.

19. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case American-Iranian Relations (1953-1979) See handout 1. Interpreting US Iran policy objective • Pursuit of Prosperity (II) • US-Iranian ties only benefited the rich & the multinational corporations • Like ties to other developing nations, US-Iranian relations served to sustain inequality between North & South US Iranian policy sharpens the conflicts between the rich & the poor in the US and in the world.

20. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case American-Iranian Relations (1953-1979) See handout 1. Interpreting US Iran policy objective • Pursuit of Principles • US Iran policy aimed to fulfill America’s commitment to democracy around the world. • Intimate relations opened Iran to American values of democracy, equality and civil liberties. • US presence in Mideast works best for political & social change in this conservative region. • Iran could move from adopting Western lifestyle to embracing Western institutions.

21. Interpreting US Foreign Policy • “4 Ps” & Interpretation: A Case • Group Project 1: Interpreting US Operation in Afghanistan (See handout 2 on my webpage)