GLA multiple choice questions
What features distinguish Socio-Economic accounts of US Cold War foreign policy?
A focus on class and economic interests
Explanation:
A grand strategy of primacy is a strategy aimed at achieving and/or preserving US pre-eminence within the international system. With the emergence of the US as the world's sole superpower in the Post-Cold War era, this has come to denote a strategy aimed at preventing potential challengers to US power - or 'peer competitors' - from emerging. This strategy is most closely associated with Offensive realist theory due to its emphasis on power-maximization as the key to securing national interest, but proponents of primacy usually also argue that primacy is beneficial for all as it allows the US to maintain international order independent of other states if necessary. Primacy is usually taken to be assured principally by US military superiority, supplemented by its powerful economic base, although many speculate as to the potential emergence of China in particular as a potential rival to the US.
What was meant by the term 'New World Order'?
A new democratic internationalism led by the United States
What was the Marshall plan?
A plan designed to aid the economy recovery of Europe An attempt to diminish the potential attraction of the Soviet system to Europeans An aid programme that embedded US influence in Europe
According to Realists, what accounts for the onset of the Cold War?
A power vacuum The threat posed by the Soviet Union
What was the 'New Populism'?
A strand of neo-isolationist sentiment
Explanation:
Although Defensive and Offensive Realism share in common the assumption that states operate under a condition of international anarchy, they differ on the issue of how exactly this influences state behavior. Defensive realists believe that states are security maximizers that should seek only the amount of power required to assure survival, and recommend a prudent and restrained foreign policy. Offensive realists, by contrast, believe that states constantly seek ways to increase their own power relative to that of other states. By consequence, powerful states such as the US look not only to preserve but also increase their power when possible according to offensive realists.
Explanation:
Although President Woodrow Wilson declared the US neutral after the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1914, the neutrality of the US was skewed towards the allies by a number of factors. Not the least of these was the fact that long-standing financial ties between Britain and the major US banks on the east coast meant that the allies could avail of ten times the amount loaned to Germany and Austria-Hungary (in the end the allies borrowed in the region of $2.5 billion). Wilson also feared the prospect of a German-dominated Europe, and whilst the funding of the allies gave the Germans cause to attack American shipping in the Atlantic this in turn generated the rationale for direct US involvement in WWI.
Explanation:
Although Socio-Economic approaches to the study of US Cold War Foreign policy can encompass a variety of dimensions, the term is most closely associated with a Marxist-oriented emphasis on the role of class and economic interests in determining the conduct of US Cold War foreign policy. Socio-Economic approaches pay particular attention to the manner in which US foreign policy is shaped by a perceived need to develop new markets and reproduce the international capitalist system of which the American domestic economy is an integral part. As a result Socio-Economic approaches tend to interpret American Cold War foreign policy as a response to a series of challenges emanating from the Communist bloc and Third World to the US-led capitalist model of social production.
Explanation:
Although a Shia revolt in Iraq quickly followed Saddam Hussein's defeat by a US-led coalition in Kuwait, the US did not seek to overthrow Saddam primarily due to a lack of UN support and fear of a protracted and bloody conflict that would cost US lives and might ultimately descend in to civil war. The UN mandate had only authorized the expulsion of Saddam from Kuwait; it did not mandate his overthrow, and if the US was to do so the fear was that it would fragment the coalition and destroy the cooperative spirit of the supposed 'New World Order'. Instead the US backed a UN sanctions regime restricting the supply of oil from Iraq, reluctantly leaving Saddam Hussein in power.
Explanation:
Although political unrest and communist agitation in Greece and Turkey provided the immediate backdrop to the unveiling of the Truman Doctrine, historians generally acknowledge that the statement had a significance that extended far beyond this. Truman's statement was cast in general terms such that American commitment to resist communist expansion in Greece and Turkey could be as easily applied to other parts of the world. In so doing, Truman was able to motivate a sceptical Congress to back an activist US foreign policy aimed at containing the spread of Soviet influence and opened the way for future US interventions justified in terms of a geopolitical struggle for influence against the Soviet Union.
Explanation:
American exceptionalism is generally seen to be closely related to a form of anti-statism that is peculiar to the US. The liberal republicanism that is operative at the heart of American exceptionalism is strongly opposed to large-scale governmental apparatuses and bureaucracies, which it identifies with the curtailment of individual freedom. Instead it advocates the decentralization of power in the American political system. Partly as a result, American exceptionalism can be linked to opposition to internationalist projects that might seek to create a world government. In turn, some have seen this as a factor in the American public's periodic hostility towards international organizations.
What were the 'open-door notes'?
An American proclamation that China should be open to US trade and missionaries
Explanation:
Approved in 1950, National Security Council Report number 68, or NSC 68, is generally seen to represent a hardening in US Cold War foreign policy. More specifically NSC 68 represented a reformulation of George Kennan's original blueprint for containment, which was primarily political-economic in nature, towards a more militarized, hardline interpretation of that concept. In the wake of the 'loss' of China and the Soviet test of an atomic weapon, NSC 68 espoused a more aggressive form of containment based on 'perimeter defense' - that is the defense of all parts of the border between communist and non-communist world with equal vigor. In doing so NSC 68 paved the way not only for intervention in Korea, but also in areas of arguably less strategic importance, most notably Vietnam and later Laos and Cambodia.
Explanation:
At one point in the War of 1812 against the British, the US appeared to be on the verge of catastrophe. Having made early gains in Canada, US forces were quickly pushed back by the British all the way to Washington DC resulting, famously, in the burning down of the White House in 1814. The US escaped catastrophe, though, through a combination of skillful diplomacy with the British, a series of naval victories on the Great Lakes on the border with British Canada, and, especially, by dint of British preoccupation with the ongoing Napoleonic wars in Europe. As a result of the latter, the British were relatively amenable to a negotiated settlement.
What is the core reason as to why the US is viewed as exceptional?
Because of its intensely liberal character, which is rooted in a sense of its special mission
What was 'democratic enlargement'?
Both b and c😓
In what sense might exceptionalism link isolationist and internationalist strategies?
Both can be viewed as different means of achieving the same liberal ends
In what sense is the grand strategy of Neo-Isolationism predicated on Defensive realist theory?
Both place emphasis on national interest and advocate a restrained foreign policy
How did relations with Russia develop under George H.W. Bush?
Cautious support for Gorbachev and Yeltsin
Explanation:
Congress primarily objected to Woodrow Wilson's proposal for the League of Nations, leading to its rejection of the proposal in 1919, on the basis that the covenant of the League would bind the US to an international alliance. The key point of contention was the League's collective security provision, which would have committed the US to the military aid of another member of the League in the event of attack. This was seen to undermine Congress's prerogative to declare war, as is stated in the US constitution. The rejection of the League is also seen to fit within the broader tradition of avoiding 'entangling alliances' with external powers.
Explanation:
Contemporary European liberals tend to critique American exceptionalism on the basis that it is a façade for the extension of US power and interests. Whereas the notion of American exceptionalism frequently asserts that the spread of American values and culture is a force for global good, critics argue that this simply becomes a rhetorical justification for a new kind of American imperialism. In this regard, contemporary European liberals would argue that American exceptionalism fails to live up to its own anti-imperialist ideals and has been counter-productive in so far as it risks generating greater anti-American sentiment globally.
Explanation:
Cultural homogeneity would not generally be regarded as a well-spring of contemporary American exceptionalism. On the contrary, America's status as a heterodox 'cultural melting pot' is more readily identified as factor that marks the US out as a unique polity. Moreover, this cultural and political diversity is often seen as source of strength. Likewise, military primacy and economic dynamism are also usually identified as contemporary sources of American exceptionalism. In the military realm in particular the US is seen to have a unique degree of supremacy today, and in the economic realm it remains a key innovator in business and technology.
What reasons were cited for the 'decline' of American power at the end of the Cold War?
Defence overspending and budget deficits
How do Defensive Realism and Offensive Realism differ in their explanation of state behaviour?
Defensive realists believe states are security maximizers, whereas Offensive realists believe states to be power maximizers
Which factor is cited by Revisionists as the primary cause of the Cold War?
Domestic concerns of the US
What were the implications of the Cold War for American exceptionalism?
Exceptionalism was enhanced by America's status as the 'leader of the free world' The extension of American power globally challenged core assumptions of exceptionalism
Explanation:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, before becoming President, was generally seen to have favoured an internationalist stance on the part of the US. The effects of the Wall Street Crash and the ensuing economic crisis, however, convinced him that internal reform rather than internationalism held the key to the economic recovery of the US. His key proposal here was the raft of measures included under the 'New Deal'. As the 1930s progressed, FDR did become increasingly concerned by the rising power and aggression of Germany in Europe, but was circumscribed in how much he could aid Europe by isolationist sentiment within Congress.
Explanation:
George H.W. Bush's cautious support for Gorbachev and then later Yeltsin is in many ways reflective of his pragmatic instinct in relation to foreign policy. Bush welcomed the reforms initiated by Gorbachev but stopped short of full commitment and did not seek to financially support Soviet reform. The same was true of Yeltsin's presidency where Bush supported post-Soviet Russia, and was always wary of intervening in the Balkans for fear of upsetting the US-Russian relationship, but again declined to provide financial aid for the transition. In the main, Bush fostered a cooperative relationship on a pragmatic basis, represented first in Soviet acquiescence to a US led response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and later in arms agreements such as the START (STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty. In this way Bush attempted to cautiously endorse a potentially volatile transition while at the same time being wary of the emergence of a potential rival to the US.
Why did Franklin D. Roosevelt initially favour an 'isolationist' stance on the part of the US during the 1930s?
He believed that internal reform rather than international negotiation was the key to economic regeneration of the US
Explanation:
Ideational accounts of US foreign policy during the Cold War tend to place great emphasis on the role of ideology and beliefs in constructing US perceptions of an external Soviet/communist threat. Rather than taking that threat to be self-evident, ideational approaches such as Constructivism examine the role played by ideas, language and interpretation in constructing that threat and shaping US foreign policy. This distinguishes ideational approaches from Realist accounts, which tend to place greater emphasis on geopolitics, power and material interests in determining the shape of US Cold War foreign policy.
Explanation:
Implicit in the notion of American exceptionalism is a commitment not only to political liberalism but also to economic liberalism - that is, a commitment to key values such as the right to own private property, capitalism, open markets and economic opportunity. At the international level this has contributed to the US state's consistent espousal of open markets and trade liberalization as advocated by the GATT and WTO today. It has also contributed to general opposition to the adoption of policies that restrict liberal trade - such as the use of tariffs, nationalization of industry and redistributive policies - by the US at the global level.
Explanation:
In relation to US Cold War foreign policy, Geir Lundestad's phrase 'empire by invitation' denotes the manner in which Western European allies became willfully dependent on the US as the guarantor of their security in the post-World War II era. Fearful of Soviet expansion, Western European states opted for close alliance with the United States, epitomized in the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO). In return, such alliances allowed a greater US military presence and influence in Western Europe itself. As the Cold War progressed, Europe also became increasingly reliant on the US 'nuclear umbrella' - the threat of US nuclear retaliatory force - to deter the Soviet Union. The word 'empire' here indicates the extent to which such reliance allowed the US greater say in European affairs as a result, although this was not always straightforward as issues such as the Suez crisis attest to.
Explanation:
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a prominent school of though emerged that US power was in decline. This argument, made most prominently by the scholar Paul Kennedy's notion of 'Imperial Overstretch', was based on the fact that the US was left with massive budget deficits at the end of the Cold War. These were in turn due primarily to the amount of spending the US was putting towards its military and defence, which had increased significantly under Reagan. As a result, fears about US economic competitiveness grew. Although the idea of American decline continued until the mid-90s, it diminished significantly in the wake of US success in Kuwait, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the growth of the American economy during the 1990s.
What was meant by the term 'American multiplication table'?
Increase in the US population
What was the significance of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution?
It allowed the US to intensify its involvement in Vietnam
What is the implication of American exceptionalism in terms of global economics?
It encourages liberalization of global trade
Why did Congress oppose Wilson's proposal for the League of Nations?
It feared the League would commit the US to an international alliance
Why is NSC 68 seen as a turning point in US Cold War Foreign policy?
It indicated a shift towards military containment
What was the significance of the Truman Doctrine?
It indicated that the US would now view all local revolts through a geopolitical lens
Why might the 'Philadelphian System' be linked to the idea of American exceptionalism?
It was designed as the antithesis of European politics
What was unique about the NATO intervention in Kosovo?
It was the first war won by airpower alone
Why did Lincoln oppose the southward expansion of the US?
It would have involved compromising opposition to slavery
Why might American exceptionalism lead to opposition to world government?
Its general anti-statism opposes centralized government
Why do realists tend to object to the influence of exceptionalism on American foreign policy?
Its takes away from a focus on security, power and interest
Explanation:
Liberalism and its proponents have consistently advocated the extension of the liberal democratic character of the American state as the core guiding principle of US foreign policy. In turn this has led liberals to espouse the promotion of democracy at the global level, the use of international institutions such as the UN to do so, and the extension of the American model of free trade and open markets. Liberals argue that democracies are less prone to conflict and, therefore, that the expansion of democracy is concurrent with the security interests of the United States. Liberal theorists such as John Ikenberry also argue that US interests are best served by maintaining a benign hegemony that emphasizes the role of international law and institutions.
What are the components of the 'American Creed'?
Liberty Equality Individualism
Explanation:
Liberty, equality and individualism are all generally seen as key components of the 'American Creed' - an over-arching term used to denote the American interpretation of liberal democratic values. Autocracy is in many ways the antithesis of the American Creed as it denotes the concentration of power in one person and thus has connotations of authoritarianism, hierarchy and despotism. All of these were elements that the Founding Fathers of the US associated with the old European powers and sought to prevent through the provisions of the constitution and its creation of a liberal American republic.
Why did George H.W. Bush allow Saddam Hussein to remain in power after the Gulf War of 1991?
Limited UN mandate and fear of a protracted conflict
How did the Cold War context shape US perceptions of the Third World?
Local developments were viewed through a geopolitical lens
Explanation:
Managing Russia's transition from its Soviet past was high on Clinton's agenda upon coming to power. One dimension of this was the promotion of democracy in Russia and the former Soviet states. Another was securing the nuclear capabilities of Russia and the former Soviet states, which it was feared might become unstable. But geoeconomics also played a large part in Clinton's policy towards Russia, and his administration was keen to accelerate Russia's transition from the planned economy to the free market. Hence the Clinton administration remained largely consistent in its combination of democracy, free markets and security in its foreign policy with regard to Russia.
Explanation:
Marxist explanations of US foreign policy behavior focus primarily on the domestic dimension, in particular the needs of the US economy as the driving force behind the formulation of foreign policy. Marxists argue that US foreign policy is geared towards sustaining and expanding the US economy by attaining new markets, sources of raw material and sources of capital, and that US foreign policy is designed to stabilize the US economy during periods of economic crisis. As a result, Marxists argue that US foreign policy tends towards imperialism, and that individual leaders and governments act to protect the interests of a particular ruling class.
What are the sources of contemporary American exceptionalism?
Military primacy Economic dynamism Political diversity
What accounted for the US avoidance of catastrophe at the hands of the British in 1814?
Naval victories Diplomacy British preoccupation with Europe
Explanation:
Neo-isolationism is a grand strategy that argues that the geographical position and regional dominance of the United States renders it naturally secure and, on this basis, that the US can afford to reduce its commitments to overseas ventures particularly in the military realm. As a result, neo-isolationist sentiment shares much in common with defensive realists' advocacy of a restrained foreign policy aimed at a maximizing US security rather than expansion abroad. Both recognize that to some extent the US relies on global trade for its economic prosperity, but argue that this should be weighed against the potential costs of US involvement overseas.
How did the relationship between President and Congress develop under George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton?
None of thee above
What are the key elements of the Liberal approach to US foreign policy?
Promotion of Democracy, free-trade and international institutions
Why do some scholars claim that Reagan 'won the Cold War'?
Reagan's first term military spending pressured the Soviet Union to keep up its international commitments
Explanation:
Realists believe that the Cold War began primarily due to the changing distribution of power in the international system, supplemented by the expansionist nature of the Soviet Union. Realists argue that the end of World War II saw the decline of a multipolar system and the rise of a bi-polar system in which power was distributed between two 'poles', the US and the Soviet Union. This encouraged rivalry and competition between the two powers. Most Realist/'orthodox' accounts of the origins of the Cold War also argue that subsequent Soviet aggression left the US with no choice but to respond in order to protect its own power and position.
Explanation:
Realists tend to object to the influence of exceptionalism on American foreign policy on the basis that it diminishes the rightful focus on security, power and the national interest. Realists generally oppose the substantial influence of morality and ideals in foreign policy as they argue that this leads to unsound policies. Advocacy of the spread of American ideals and values, which is often implied by the notion of American exceptionalism, risks committing the US to a global ideological crusade, realists would argue. This in turn could exhaust American resources and lead to a consequent weakening of US power and security.
Explanation:
Revisionist accounts of the origins of the Cold War tend to place less emphasis on external factors and focus more on the role played by the internal, domestic considerations of the United States. Here, for example, Marxists focus on America's economic expansion as a potential factor, and liberals examine the ideological dimension of US foreign policy and the construction of the external Soviet/communist threat as a means to assure cohesion at home. More recently Neoclassical realists have accepted the need to combine and supplement the traditional realist concentration on external determinants with attention to such domestic variables.
Explanation:
Rosenau's theoretical framework argues that US foreign policy can be influenced by five potential factors: external environment, domestic societal environment, governmental structure, bureaucratic roles and the individual characteristics of foreign policy officials. The framework is intended as a simplifying device that alerts us to potential factors influencing the formulation of US foreign policy at any particular time. However, the framework does not of itself tell us which factor (or combination of factors) is the most important, hence there is a need to consider all the possible variables when trying to explain US foreign policy.
What was meant by the term 'Rogue States'?
States outside of the 'family of nations'
What is meant by a grand strategy of 'primacy'?
Striving for American dominance in the international system
Explanation:
Systemic theories, such as Defensive and Offensive realism, share in common the belief that the nature of the international system is the primary determinant of states' external behavior. Particular emphasis is placed on the anarchic nature of the international system - the absence of any over-arching authority above that of states - which realists believe causes states to act on the principle of self-help in an attempt to assure their own survival. As a result, such systemic theories tend to place much less emphasis on domestic variables when attempting to explain foreign policy, as they believe such factors to be relatively minor influences as compared to the goal of assuring state survival under the condition of international anarchy.
Explanation:
The 'New Populism', as espoused by those such as Republican candidate Pat Buchanan, was a strand of neo-isolationist sentiment that emerged in the early 1990s. It presented the argument that the US, having emerged victorious from the Cold War, no longer needed to maintain an activist foreign policy, should concentrate on its domestic affairs, and should not get involved in conflicts that did not directly impact upon its own national interest. It was also reflected in opposition to economic globalization, argued to be a source of economic decline and unemployment in the US, and support for protectionist measures. Although the 'new populism' was in some sense a reflection of the low priority of foreign affairs for most Americans during the 1990s, public support of international institutions such as the UN and NATO remained high and public was in reality more complex in its attitudes towards foreign policy issues.
Explanation:
The 'Philadelphian System' was largely designed in opposition to the European model of government, thus arguably constituting a direct attempt to distinguish the American political system from its contemporaries. The decentralized nature of the American federal system was intended to overcome the hierarchies that marked European politics and the autocratic tendencies of European states of the time. A component of this was the rejection of a large standing army in favour of state militias by the founding fathers. The establishment of the Philadelphian System was also couched within a desire to steer clear of European affairs, although this proved somewhat difficult to achieve in practice.
Explanation:
The 'open door notes' were a series of memos created by the US Secretary of State John Hay in the period 1899-1900. With China in internal turmoil and prone to the designs of several outside powers including Britain, Germany and Japan, the notes proclaimed that China should be open to US trade and missionaries. The US feared that China would effectively be divided up into areas controlled by individual external powers, a development which it opposed as this might inhibit the possibilities for US trade among China's expansive markets. The notes are thus seen as an important landmark in the move away from US formal territorial expansion towards an emphasis on dominance in trade and access to markets.
Explanation:
The Cold War era had two contrasting implications for American exceptionalism. On the one hand, the positioning of the US as the 'leader of the free world' and the guarantor of democracy embedded the US self-image as an exceptional state. On the other hand, however, the extension of US power and influence that came as a by-product of America's involvement in the Cold War led many to question whether or not the US had actually abandoned its commitment to anti-imperialism, a key component of American exceptionalism at the international level, and had itself become a kind of imperial power.
Explanation:
The Domino Theory was an idea espoused in the 1950s, particularly in relation to South-East Asia, that the fall of one state to communism would inevitably lead to the spread of communism to its neighbours. To some extent the theory had already been implicit in US attitudes to communism in Europe where, for example, it was feared that the fall of Greece to communism would hasten its spread to Italy. In this case Secretary of State Dean Acheson used the metaphor of one bad apple causing the whole barrel to rot; the domino metaphor, applied to Vietnam in particular, connoted the feeling that the fall of Vietnam would lead to a particularly rapid spread of communism to other states in the region in the manner of dominoes lined up in a row.
Explanation:
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was highly significant in extending US military action against North Vietnamese forces. From the mid-1950s onwards the US had become increasingly involved in Indochina/Vietnam, and by 1964 it was propping up the South Vietnamese state against the communist North with financial and military support. After an alleged attack on US ships stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson successfully persuaded Congress to endorse the Tonkin resolution which allowed the President to prosecute the Vietnam war by all means necessary. The number of US troops in Vietnam subsequently increased, as was the bombing of the North with Operation Rolling Thunder in 1968, even though the US never formally declared war in Vietnam. The broader significance of the resolution lay in its extension of presidential power, later reigned in again by Congress with the War Powers act in the 1970s.
Explantation:
The Lincoln presidency and the broader context of the US civil war is generally seen to have provided a hiatus in the US expansion during the 19th century. Lincoln and his Republican party adopted a position of no-more-slave-expansion. The less industrialized Southern states of the US, which were dependent on the slave economy, bitterly opposed this position. With the threat of the Southern states secession from the Union, a compromise was suggested based on federal protection of the slave industry south of Kentucky and Missouri, but Lincoln feared that this would simply legitimate the extension of the slave-trade into area such as Cuba and the wider Caribbean.
Explanation:
The Marshall plan is rarely seen, particularly from a Socio-Economic perspective, as a purely altruistic gesture on the part of the US, although few would doubt its importance in reviving European economies in the post-World War II era. Marshall aid kick-started Europe's economies, but in doing so it was in part designed to convince Europeans of the efficacy of the market economy as opposed to the Soviet socialist alternative. The plan also effectively tied the US to both the economic (and physical) security of Europe: the economic viability of Western Europe was seen as crucial to its stability and was thus in turn central to the American goal of containing Soviet influence. For this reason the Marshall plan is frequently viewed as the economic complement to the political-military strategy of containment espoused by the Truman Doctrine.
Explanation:
The US is generally viewed (or tends to have a self-perception of itself) as 'exceptional' due primarily to its intensely liberal character, which is in turn rooted in a sense of its special mission. Proponents of American exceptionalism argue that the success of the US is in large part due to the extent of its liberal character, both in political and economic terms, which is unsurpassed and which they would argue in large part accounts for the rise of American state power. Historically these proponents have also argued that the US has a special mission or duty to spread the benefits of this particular political system globally.
What role did 'geoeconomics' play in Clinton's relations with Russia?
The US promoted the marketization of the Russian economy
Explanation:
The US-led NATO intervention in Kosovo was the first conflict to rely almost entirely on airpower (provided primarily by the US and supplemented by the UK). Planes were directed from command posts well away from the battlefield, flew at heights out of the range of Serbian anti-aircraft fire and employed 'smart weapons', such as precision guided munitions, first pioneered during the Gulf conflict of 1991. The reliance on airpower was itself symptomatic of a new form of 'casualty aversion' among the US public: the air campaign was designed to reduce the death of US soldiers as far as possible (although controversy over the number of civilian deaths caused by the US bombing persists).
Explanation:
The claim that President Reagan 'won the Cold War' is based on the argument that Reagan's high defense spending and activist foreign policy in the early 1980s forced the Soviet Union to compete internationally and, ultimately, to overextend itself thus precipitating its collapse. It should be noted that this argument is itself highly contested. Although there are those who support the Reagan 'victory' thesis, most historians argue that the end of the Soviet Union resulted from a combination of long-term competition with the United States for the duration of the Cold War, combined with the reforms initiated by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev contributed more directly to the Cold War's end.
What, according to Systemic theories, is the primary determinant of a state's foreign policy?
The distribution of power in the international system
According to Rosenau, which variable(s) should be considered to explain the foreign policy behavior of the United States?
The external environment Domestic environment, government and bureaucracy Individual personality of foreign policy officials such as the US President
What was the 'Domino Theory'?
The idea that the fall of one state to communism would inexorably lead to the fall of its neighbors
Explanation:
The key difference between the 'old', pre-1865 empire and the 'new', post-1865 empire was the fact that US expansion was now based primarily on markets rather than the formal annexation of territory. Prior to 1865, the pattern of US expansion had been based very much on the formal incorporation of territory (such as the Louisiana purchase and the annexation of Texas) and settlement. Post 1865 however, with the North's industrial economy booming as a result of the Civil War, greater priority was placed on the need for the US to have privileged access to overseas markets for US products.
Explanation:
The relationship between President and Congress is always a complex one, but in general it can be said that in the post-Cold War era, hopes for a decentralization of power away from the executive and towards Congress did not materialize. This is especially true in the domain of foreign policy. In the case of the Bush administration, the handling of the post-Soviet transition remained largely the prerogative of the executive, and with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Bush openly voiced his opposition to Congressional interference (as he saw it). Under Clinton, particularly during his second term in office, Republicans in Congress created a major headache for the President in terms of foreign policy on issues such as National Missile Defence and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Overall though, Congress retained only it ability to block a President's initiatives on certain occasions, and saw little increase in its ability to generate foreign policy.
What drives US foreign policy according to the Marxist perspective?
The search for new markets
Explanation:
The self-image of the US, particularly during the early years of the Republic, was frequently defined in terms of opposition to (British) imperialism, from which the pre-independence colonies had sought to be free. However, the idea of empire was not dismissed completely by the Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson argued that the US, through expansion of the republic, could become an 'empire of liberty' - that is an expansive territorial polity, but one which would be based around the principles of liberalism, democracy and justice. This interpretation of empire gained favour during the early part of the 19th century and particularly during the era of rapid territorial acquisition in the 1890s.
Explanation:
The term 'American multiplication table', in the context of early US expansion, generally refers to the rapid population growth experienced by the US in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The rapid demographic expansion of the US populace, it was calculated by Thomas Jefferson, would create the necessity (and opportunity) for the territorial expansion of the US. As a primarily agrarian economy, the residents of the newly independent US needed land. Jefferson concluded that the way forward for the US was to encourage westward expansion beyond the territory of the original 13 colonies, and this search for land was a key factor in annexation of areas such as the Louisiana territories, Texas and California in the 19th century.
Explanation:
The term 'Rogue States' is deliberately amorphous and has been used interchangeably with a number of other terms in the past - e.g. 'backlash' states, 'states of concern' and so on. Generally the term refers to states 'outside of the family of nations', meaning non-liberal democratic states that contravene international law in some way. However, since the term has really only gained currency in the United States, it tends to be used primarily for those states seen to oppose US interests such as Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Libya and (until 2003) Iraq, and seek to do so by supporting international terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Non-democratic character does not usually suffice to qualify as 'Rogue', as is epitomized by US attitudes towards China, and the US has been criticized for its somewhat arbitrary application of the term.
Explanation:
The term 'democratic enlargement', developed by President Clinton's National Security Adviser Tony Lake, represented the Clinton administration's attempt to develop its emphasis on US economic growth into a foreign policy. Democratic enlargement proposed the extension of liberal democracy globally as a US foreign policy goal, but Lake referred very specifically to 'market democracies'. In other words, the Clinton administration took democracy and free markets to be mutually sustaining and hence concurrent goals of US foreign policy. The administration believed that ultimately the spread of market democracies was beneficial for the US not only in the extension of the 'democratic peace', but also in the provision of new markets.
How do Ideational approaches to US foreign policy during the Cold War differ from Realist accounts of the same period?
They place greater emphasis on ideology and beliefs
Why do contemporary European liberals tend to object to the influence of exceptionalism on American foreign policy?
They see it as an ideological façade for US imperialism
Why do Liberal Internationalists argue that international institutions are important to US grand strategy?
They serve American interests
Why did Americans believe that they could found a different kind of empire after 1776?
This would be an 'empire of liberty'
'Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none'. Identify the speaker.
Thomas Jefferson
Explanation:
Thomas Jefferson argued in his first inaugural address of 1801 that the position of the US should be 'Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.' In doing so, Jefferson echoed the sentiments that had been present in George Washington's farewell address of 1796, when Washington similarly warned the US to steer clear of European affairs. Europe at the time was party to what's known as the balance of power system, which involved a complex system of negotiation and rivalry. Jefferson feared that alliance with any one European power could leave the fledgling US republic vulnerable, and was keen to maintain US freedom of action.
Explanation:
Though debates over the conduct of US foreign policy are frequently set up as a contrast between 'isolationist' and 'internationalist' periods and strategies, it can be argued that the concept of exceptionalism links both the isolationist and internationalist moments of US foreign policy. Both can be viewed as different means of achieving the same liberal ends, and exceptionalism can be used to justify both isolationism and internationalism. Isolationism can be justified in terms of the US concentrating on its own affairs and values, but acting as a beacon for the rest of the world. Internationalism may be justified in terms of an American mission or destiny to spread its unique values.
Explanation:
Though the term 'New World Order' was never entirely fleshed out by President George H.W. Bush, the term is usually taken to denote a rhetorical commitment to a new democratic internationalism by the US. It was initially used by Bush in the wake of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, and was intended to capture a new spirit of cooperation. Following the Iraqi invasion, the US and Soviet Union had for the first time agreed a common position in the UN Security Council, and the New World Order idea was intended to convey the sense that the international community, operating through the United Nations, was entering a new phase of collective action previously precluded by the Cold War divide. The use of the term was, however, short-lived and the Bush administration frequently acted in a pragmatic fashion at odds with the idealist tone of its New World Order rhetoric.
What fact impinged upon America's 'neutral' stance towards the belligerent in World War between 1915 and 1917?
US banks funded the allies much more that Germany and Austria-Hungary
What was the key difference between US expansion pre- and post- 1865?
US expansion was based on markets rather than territory post-1865
Explanation:
US perceptions of the Third World were undoubtedly shaped by the Cold War context, whereby local nationalist and anti-colonial struggles tended to be viewed through the lens of the bi-polar power structure. This phenomenon - sometimes known as 'overlay' because of the manner in which all aspects of world politics were understood within the bi-polar rubric - meant that the US and the Soviet Union competed for influence in the Third World, frequently choosing to side with one local group or another. By consequence, the US supported several non-democratic states and governments in the Third World during the Cold War simply because those states opposed forces aligned with the Soviet bloc. There was also a simultaneous tendency in the US to regard all revolutions in the Third World as orchestrated from Moscow.
Explanation:
Unlike realists theorists, liberal Internationalists make the argument that American interests are actually served by cooperating with other states through international institutions. A primary reason for arguing this is that the US should seek to use its pre-eminent position to create order out of anarchy: that is, the US should as far as possible seek to re-make the international order in the image of its own domestic sphere. This entails the promotion of democracy, free-trade and cooperation in the form of international institutions such as the United Nations. Liberal internationalists do not argue that the US is incapable of acting alone, nor do they deny the extent of US power; however, they do argue that certain issues related to US security, such as terrorism and arms control, are much easier to deal with through multilateral frameworks than by unilateralism.
What is meant by the phrase 'empire by invitation'?
Voluntary reliance on an external power for security