From Relative Isolation to International Role - Essay Example

From relative isolation to international role At the time of the Spanish American War the United s went from relative isolation to increased global involvement because of its imperialistic policies, to safeguard its interests in relation to opponents particularly Soviet Union and currently to fight against authoritarian regimes and terrorist groups. The consequences of this increased global involvement on American society were it was criticized for unilateral actions and many American soldiers who participated in the war are having mental scares, with the government needing to divert major funds that would be normally spent for social welfare for its military operations. The term ‘Imperialism’ is normally used when a nation enters into another geographical territory and captures its governance, with the intention to dominate it and also to tap from it. The late 19th – early 20th century was characterized by the spread of imperialism in the world. The US incorporated imperialism in its foreign policies to expand its political and economic influences. They did that through its involvement in the World Wars and also through other initiatives in the first half of the 20th century. This wish of US to play a prominent international role continued primarily after 1950’s, with its confrontation with Soviet Union through Cold War, Cuban Missile crisis, Vietnam War, Afghan War and with its involvement in the Middle-East, etc, etc. Importantly because of those actions, its role in the international affairs got strengthened and so US continues to play a major International role. Naturally, in such a situation the countries against whom those imperialistic policies were followed were affected and importantly even the American citizens were also affected because of US’ international role. From Spanish American War to World Wars The wish to expand the borders through imperialism rose in the minds of the US mainly to keep the country in top ranks. It all started with its indirect confrontation with Spain in foreign territories like Philippines in the late part of 19th century. That is, with many European countries particularly Britain, Spain, Netherlands, France, etc., expanding their influence throughout the world through their imperialist policies, America not to be left behind started exhibiting imperialistic policies to garner many territories. However, America did not engage in any confrontation with imperialistic mindset against the British, but they did engage against Spain. The Spanish–American War happened mainly because of American involvement in the Cuban War of Independence, and more specifically due to the attacks it carried out on the Spains possessions in the Pacific area, particularly on Philippines. The other thing that became visible while following the Americas expansion plans is that, it has became more of a global competition to control as much land possible. In addition, America initiated its imperialistic plans when its interests or stake was under threat, and when other countries tried to ‘enter’ America’s ‘domain’ and undermine its interest. “In places where Americas interests are at stake, however (and in conflict with those of other nations)-and where national feeling is divided, or artificial, or non-existent, so that patriotic native elites cannot easily take control of the situation-we need to act in our own interests”1 The other important motive of America to indulge in expansionism is the wish to develop economically. That is, after entering the foreign countries, capturing its governance and holding the power, Americans searched for important and valuable materials, which they can use separately or to manufacture finished goods. The finished good could be sold in many countries, thereby helping America to develop its economy. “…expansionism was driven by the idea that the American economy needs to grow continuously in order to sustain domestic harmony” 2 In the late 19th century, America’s navy was not that strong and impeded its expansion plans, but with the advent of the 20th century and due to the scientific and technological developments, the whole American armed forces got stronger, aiding its imperialist plans particularly during the war and revolution in Philippines. With the indigenous Filipinos fighting against the Spanish, America got involved in that conflict by supporting the Filipino nationalists. This involvement by America was one of the most prominent attempts by it to take a larger international role. However, America’s major attempt to garner international presences is not without negative repercussions. For example, during America’s imperialist steps in Philippines, many common people were killed apart from the insurgents. Even on the American side, many soldiers lost their lives or became disabled. “By the time the war ended in 1902, it had cost the Americans 4,243 men dead and 2,818 wounded. An estimated 16,000 Filipinos were killed in combat... In addition to those deaths directly related to the fighting, some 100,000 Filipinos died of starvation and disease”3. However, on the whole, when one views at the repercussions of American initial expansion plans, it had many negative effects. While trying to establish their hold on the country, America had resorted to a lot of violence and brutality affecting many lives. The rulers of the country were also not able to stop the imperialist powers’ exploitation of resources, both natural as well as human. This gets reflected in the lines from the book Looking Back, “if you would see men again the beasts of prey they seemed in the nineteenth century, all you have to do is to restore the old social and industrial system, which taught them to view their natural prey in their fellow men, and to find their gain in the loss of others.”4 All these countries had plentiful natural resources and all were used as the raw materials for the industries in western countries. Britain with the industrial revolution garnered all these resources. Americans following the example set by British also took resources from many countries. Thus, sizable number of Asian and African countries till the middle part of the 20th century was the unwilling suppliers to the Western nations, with no benefits to them. From this, it is clear that America’s wish to play an international role started off with its confrontation with Spain, and got strengthened more due to its imperialistic policies. World War I, the first global war, took place mainly in the continent of Europe, between the European countries or between to European entities. US made only a late entry but made a decisive impact, thereby building its international presence. The war was propagated by two major alliances, the Entente Powers and the Central powers. USA remained neutral and followed the policy of isolationism without overtly supporting any of the alliances. But, this policy came under stress, when the German Submarines sank the passenger ship called Lusitania in 1915, killing Americans aboard. Along with this incident, other events caused by German’s aggressiveness led USA to enter the war at a very crucial stage. That is, when the Germans made a strategic withdrawal behind the Hindenburg line in 1917 and shifted its troops to the Western Front, the American troops played an important role, bringing an end to the war. With America playing the decisive role to end the war, its international standing grew, and it became a major player who can orient the policies governing the world. This can be seen in the formation of League of Nations, in the aftermath of the World War I. That is, it was Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, who has been credited with being the chief architect of the League of Nations. Thus, by creating a world body to maintain peace and handle issues between countries, US started taking on major international roles. Its’ international role particularly in relation to its economic standing got further accentuated during the Second World War as well. That is, during the Second World War, German navy imposed a geographical trade embargo on Britain, preventing any trade ships to enter the Britain’s ports. This in a way improved the political and economical influence of U.S., as it started providing the British and other European markets. US undeniable military and industrial power was confirmed and thereby its International role, when it took over the authority of the Allied Powers and importantly when its industries started providing Britain with both military supplies as well as the non-military basic commodities, as Britain could not import from continental Europe due to the embargo. This key perspective of how geography based financial actions could lead to different end results, provides interesting and insightful reasons for the emergence of U.S. as a major power. This power got strengthened even more, when America ended the Second War with the dropping of nuclear bomb on Japan, and played a major role in the formation of United Nations. From World Wars till now Due to America’s major role in ending of the World War II, the establishment of United Nations and its rivalry with Soviet Union, America started reaching the pedestal of world leadership. America’s confrontation with Soviet Union in the form of Cold War, and its eventual overtaking of Soviet Union, due to Soviet’s disintegration and importantly due to its development in many spheres including economic, technological, etc, provided the impetus for it to become world’s major or even single superpower. That is, in the course of Soviet Union’s history, after the Russian Revolution, communism became an omnipresent entity, imbuing itself in every sphere of Soviet’s life. And as Soviet Union started to spread its influence using communism as its vehicle, it directly conflicted with the interests of U.S, which have evolved into a capitalist nation in course of history. “The ironic nature of our conflict with communism sometimes centers in the relation of power to justice and virtue.”5 Specifically, in the post Second World War period, Soviet Union tried to maximize its influence in many European countries. So, U.S. had to initiate steps to check this spread and it did effectively for close to a half century. “In foreign policy, the vision of the United States and the Soviet Union as competing powers in a perilous world system gave way to a night and day conflict between a righteous America and an evil Empire”6 Then in course of time, USA showed improvement in all the aspects from Science and Technology to media, medicine, electronics etc, etc. Americas most significant gifts to the twentieth century world were the advanced technology and mass culture7. These tools aided its imperialist policies and military interventions, thus enabling it to earn the tag of world leader. But, because of this tag of being a world leader, USA is accused of indulging in a new form of imperialism affecting people. “…the world is being threatened by a very aggressive and militaristic form of imperialism bent on world domination”8 It all started with the Vietnam War, which continued for more than 15 years, ending in 1975 with the victory for the North Vietnamese military. Significantly it ended in the first ever defeat for the United States and so because of the defeat, the political and social outcomes bordered slightly on negativity. When they suffered unexpected losses, they started to attack all things that are Vietnamese, including civilians, further degrading its image. When it failed in its missions and was also accused of human rights violations, the home support dwindled and they had no option, but to leave Vietnam. Its international role and as the initiator of unilateral actions against countries, were also questioned by many. As, US government was not clear on its ‘targets’ in the Vietnam war, people started questioning any such military attempts in other areas of the world after that, giving rise to anti-war demonstrations. This was particularly visible during the Iraq Wars, carried out during the presidential regime of George W Bush. That is, although, US took on the international role as the sole global superpower, its certain actions because of that role, elicited strong reactions, even affecting the people in the American society. The Bush’s Doctrine is a collective term used to describe the various aggression centric foreign policies formulated and initiated by U.S. president George W. Bush. The term was initially used in 2001 during the U.S. attack and invasion of Afghanistan in the post Twin Tower bombings incident. President Bush was at the helm of affairs during the September 11 terrorist attacks and as a counter measure; he launched a military attack on Afghanistan and spelled out his or U.S. stance, which only came to be known as Bush’s Doctrine. That is, Bush spelled out that US had the right to militarily act against terror supporting countries and any terrorists groups without any reservations and importantly unilaterally. This aggressive stance only led to US indulging in military adventures or imperialism in many countries against the country’s government or terrorist groups, stationed there. In most of the cases, U.S. launched military strikes without any provocation from the countries, like in the case of Iraq, as a form of preventive war. That is, they wanted to neutralize any ability of the other countries to strike at U.S. Because of this policy, U.S. also decided to depose foreign regimes or governments including Saddam Hussein’s regime that acted as a potential or a perceived threat to the security and people of U.S. When President Bush practiced this doctrine and indulged in preventive wars against many governments, it clearly violated many international legal norms or laws. When U.S. acted against the countries and even the terrorist groups, most of the times it acted unilaterally without United Nations (UN) sanctions. So, these unilateral plans and actions of U.S. President George Bush are viewed as the negative effect of US’ international role. These actions of U.S. initiated by its President Bush clearly show its intentions to dominate the world with the aid of its military power and an expansive assertion of Presidential authority, based on unilateralism. That is, to control the dangerous activities of one leader, the U.S. launched pre-emptive strikes on a country without the UN sanctions. Under the pretext of finding the non-existent nuclear weapons, U.S. launched a series of violent attacks on the country, killing thousand of innocent people. Even though, it toppled, the most autocratic government headed by Saddam Hussein, U.S.’s violent acts inside Iraq, caused loss of many lives and led to a lot of hostility against U.S. in the Muslim world, with many rising against the U.S., its territory and its citizens. That is, it is being commonly acknowledged that America’s actions in Afghanistan only led to the formation of Al-Qaeda and Taliban. On the same lines, America’s forced involvement in many Islamic countries is increasing apprehensions and even anger among the Muslim people. And the radical elements among these people start forming terror groups, with the main intention to attack and wreck America, which negatively impacts the American society. That is, all their hard work and skills are not allowed to produce positive results including prosperity and achievement of American Dream, as they are cut short by Terrorism, which stops or obstructs or maims or even kills the hardworking Americans. Thus, unilateral actions of America, particularly in the Middle-East are costing U.S. both in terms of finances and human lives. Terrorism and the resultant wars on terrorism are draining the country’s or people’s finances, and in a way are preventing economic development, as major portion of the finances needed for people’s development, are used against wars and ironically for people’s protection. Thus, because of America’s unilateral actions because of being the sole superpower, without any concern for ethics and morality is directly affecting their own people. This is line with the characters in the book Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross because although they are superheroes, they fail to maintain the expected moral standards, and that causes problems to the worlds safety9 Even the returning American soldiers did not find any comfort because many of them had both physical and mental ‘scars’ of the war, and that includes all the war starting from the First World War to the current Iraq War. The central character in Ernest’ Hemmingway’s short story Soldier’s Home, which is part of the collection of short stories called, In Our Time, suffers from depression, after his return from the war. “Krebs acquired the nausea...he had been badly, sickeningly frightened all the time. In this way, he lost everything.”10 Due to the depression and the related post traumatic stress disorders (PSTD), many of the soldiers felt depressed to live. This stress got accentuated, when many of the American citizens due to their hatred of the war gave a not so favorable welcome or response to the returning soldiers. This mental scars and depression is also visible among the soldiers returning from Iraq Wars. In a recent presentation held at the School of Social Welfare, University of California, the Department of Veterans Affairs stated that 30% of Vietnam Veterans and up to 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans return with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).11 Thus, America’s rise to international dominance particularly its unilateral actions are having major negative effects on the American society, as well as in the world society. However, America and its ruling authorities are disputing this argument vehemently. They state that they have no intention to dominate the world, and are not in the mold of the dominative British empire of the 19th and the 20th century. “If we were a true empire, said Vice-President Dick Cheney in January 2004, we would currently preside over a much greater piece of the earths surface than we do. Thats not the way we operate. And, from the very top: We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire.”12 Thus, from the above analysis, it is clear that although America’s imperialism and the current foreign policies bordering on unilateralism are accused of many negative repercussions, America had some valid reasons to initiate it in the first place. As discussed above, in the late 19th century and in the full of 20th century, America had a number of reasons to participate in imperialism as well as unilateral actions, thereby taking on the international role. Moreover, the effects of this policy are still obvious and some elements of American imperialism are still widely applied in the foreign policy of the US. However, as it is eliciting unfavorable responses both from aboard and home, it is imperative on the part of US to positively handle its international role. Bibliography Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward 2000-1887. Forgotten Books. Derbyshire, John. An Empire like No Other. National Review. 55.16 (2003). Guttman, Jon. A century after resisting American imperialism, the Philippines stand as one of its more favorable legacies. Military History 15.6 (1999). Hemingway, Ernest. The complete short stories of Ernest Hemingway. Simon and Schuster, 1998. Jenkins, Philip. Decade of Nightmares. Oxford University Press, 2006. Johnston, Andrew. American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of US Diplomacy. Canadian Journal of History 34.1 (2004). Naylor, Karen. The Present State of the Movement and the Challenges We Face. Canadian Dimension 36.2 (2002). Niebuhr, Reinhold. The Irony of American History. University of Chicago Press, 2008. “Panel on the Impact of the War on Returning Troops.” University of California, n. d. Web. 10 Dec 2011. Porter, Bernard. We Dont Do Empire. History Today 55.3 (2005). Rosenberg, Emily S. Spreading the American Dream. Hill & Wang Pub, 1982. Ross, Alex and Waid, Mark. Kingdom Come. DC Comics. 1997. .. Read More