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Future Involvement In Foreign Affairs Essay Research

Future Involvement In Foreign Affairs Essay, Research Paper


Since the United States is one of the last remaining super powers


of the world, we


have the obligation to maintain and support good relations with the


smaller and weaker


nations throughout the world. We should take full advantage of this


authority in several


different ways. First the U.S. must focus on investing and trading with


those nations who


have yet to become economic powers; second, we must implement a consistent


foreign


policy towards the Middle Eastern nations: third, the United States needs


to respect the


attempts and results of the democratization and religious revivals in the


Middle East and


Latin America, while taking a passive role in letting the a Western type


of democracy take


its course: and forth, the U.S. must ease and downplay its conflict with


those civilizations


who dislike the “Western people” and their way of life.


Obviously, foreign investment is necessary for the future of


developing other


nations as well as our own. There must be an emphasis on foreign


investment and trade,


otherwise the third world nations will continue to fall behind


economically, technologically,


and domestically, which could lead to an economic downfall for the U.S. as


well. The


question then arises as to what the United States must do in order to have


large trade


agreements with other countries other than Japan and Mexico. In order for


the U.S. to


play a more active role in the economic and political development of many


of these


developing nations, it must first accept a different philosophy than its


current one. First, it


is imperative for the United States to play a similar role in Latin


America to the one Japan


has played with many of the developing nations in East Asia. The U.S.


neighbors Latin


America, and if it wants to play the role of big brother, it must accept


the responsibility.


Japan has invested, traded, and been a guide for many of it’s neighboring


countries in East


Asia, making them grow politically and economically while also profiting


economically


itself (Japan Remains 1996). The U.S. must realize that the economies of


Latin American


Nations will play an important part in the future of our own economy, and


that it must


begin to lead, invest, and aid not just Mexico, but countries such as


Peru, Argentina,


Bolivia, and Columbia into the twenty first century. The mainstay in


American foreign


policy has always been to promote and instill democracy. However, in


order to do this in a


foreign nation, the U.S. must be able to first establish a viable economic


relationship and


system within the desired nations. We should not expect or want a nation


to switch from a


total authoritarian government to a market economy; doing so would be a


disaster. The


former Soviet Union is a notable example of this philosophy. Instead,


the U.S. has to be


willing to allow developing to nations invest in U.S. markets before we


invest in theirs. In


return, a viable export / import system will be established. But it is


essential that the


economy of the developing nation be monitored and run by its own


government, and the


United States should only be there for advising purposes. When a


reasonable system has


finally been achieved, then–not right away–a more American, laissez -


faire type of


economic network will be allowed to grow. If


The greatest challenge the United States faces is implementing a


foreign policy that


is consistent throughout the Middle East. Islamic nations aren’t likely


to be responsive to


ideas such as human rights, and democracy. These nations will never be


responsive to


western ideas when the United States continues to levy sanctions against


them. The U.S.


is lucky that it has an ally in Saudi Arabia and Israel, allowing them to


implement many of


these foreign policy agendas against the other Middle Eastern countries,


without having to


face serious economic consequences in the oil and gas industry. Oddly


enough though,


Saudi Arabia is probably as much against western ideologies as any nation


in the Middle


East. Women do not have equal rights, torture is frequent, there is no


separation between


church and state, and Saudi Arabia is extremely far from developing any


sort of democracy


(Miller 58). Now, when the U.S. promotes democracy and human rights, why


does it


support one country and condemn the next? Throughout the Cold War,


American foreign


policy would give aid to any nation opposing communism. So during that


time the U.S.


developed a “you’re either with us or against us” type of policy. With


that type of policy,


many of the Middle Eastern countries became so called enemies with the


U.S., which has


led to unrest and hatred of western democracies. In this time of global


economics, the


United States cannot pick and choose which countries to invest in. In


order for the U.S. to


defeat the challenges it faces in the Middle East, it must start by


supporting the entire


Middle East. Israel and Saudi Arabia may be the most attractive offers,


but Syria and even


Iran have vast resources that will be very valuable to our economy in the


future.


Next, the United States must respond to the problems of


democratization and


religious revival in the Middle East and Latin America. In the Middle


East, there seems to


be the notion that attempts at democratization would lead to the downfall


of minority


rights. As Judith Miller pointed out, “The promotion of free elections


immediately is likely


to lead to the triumph of Islamic groups that have no commitment to


democracy in any


recognizable or meaningful form” (Miller 59). What the United States must


do is establish


a representational or parliamentary process that recognizes all forms of


political action.


Simply promoting free elections would lead to a backlash in


democratization efforts. The


fear is in the idea of one group outlawing another. A democracy might be


based on


majoritarian rule; but all groups, whether they be Islamic fundamentalist


or even Christian,


must be able to participate in the political process. Similarly, the


United States must show


complete support for the democratic process in Latin America. When


Salvador Allende


was elected President of Chile, the West feared the thought of a complete


Marxist


government (Rosenberg 28). What needs to be respected is not the


political ideology of


one group or country, but rather its democratic process. ” Because


democracy neither


forms countries nor strengthens them initially, a multiparty system is


best suited to nations


that already have a established bureaucracy and a middle class which pays


income tax and


where the main issues of property, and power-sharing have been resolved,


leaving two


politicians, or parties to argue about the budgets, and letting the tax


payers decide who


should come to power” (Kaplan E9).


A problem then arises as to the issue of Islamic and Christian


revivalism. How the


United States deals with this problem is crucial in maintaining its


leadership and future


economic entity’s in both regions. The revival of Islam in the Middle


East is a reaction to


Western encroachment during and after the Cold War. Traditionalists


believe that by


opening up to Western culture they are losing their true faith in Islam.


The first step in


solving this problem might be to recognize that Muslim nations do not


embrace every


aspect of liberalism. If the United States can establish itself as a


legitimate foreign investor


and/or trading partner, rejection of Western philosophies will soon begin


to diminish. The


U.S. should still stand strong in its fight to combat terrorism and


radical militant groups,


but must also stop showing favoritism in the region (i.e. Saudi Arabia).


The democratic


process can work, but it needs to show the nations of the Middle East that


it can be


reconciled with religious revival. This is done by allowing groups,


majority or minority, the


chance to reap in the rewards of democracy.


Can religious revival be intertwined with economic development or


democracy in


Latin America? The case of Brazil gives us good evidence as to whether


it can or cannot.


“The theory of liberation grew out of the militant priests’ direct


involvement with the


working poor, both urban and rural” (Haynes 100). In Brazil, the poor


have always been


embraced by the church. Priests have worked to show that the church is


taking an active


role in the impoverished lives of that country. The idea began to spread


through out the


slums and the pueblos, and the poor were soon being encouraged to


participate in some


sort of political movement, no matter how minor or trivial it seemed.


This was the first


evidence of a nation undergoing a religious revival and taking steps


toward development


and democracy. It has been proven that participation in a regime allows


for a greater wealth


of resources economically and politically, while encouraging development.


But, if we try


to impose our will by force or intimidation, there will be few willing


volunteers to follow


and join such a movement. Again, the United States needs to respect the


efforts of


religious revival because it is returning Christianity or Islam to its


roots just as the U.S. is


trying to establish democracy to its most basic fundamental aspect in


many of these


developing nations. The U.S. must allow democracy, in whatever form it


takes, to grow.


This means concentrating on being empathetic and tolerant to the political


and economic


developments that might occur during this time of change, rather than


taking forceful


actions that many believe is necessary. The role the United States took


when communism


was being defeated in Eastern Europe and the Western way of life was being


pushed to the


forefront is the sam

e approach it needs to take with most of these


developing nations.


Since the United States is at it’s peak of power in relation to


other civilizations, and


Western military power is unrivaled, the U.S. must attempt redefine it


image in the non-


Western part of the world. “The United States dominates the international


political,


security, and economic institutions with Western countries such as


Britain, Germany, and


France. All of these countries maintain extraordinarily close relations


with each other,


excluding the lesser and largely non-Western countries. Decisions made at


the United


Nations Security Council or in the International Monetary Fund that


reflect the interest of


the United States and its Western allies are presented to the world as


reflecting the desires


of the world community” (Huntington 39). This type of selfish global


policy can not be


tolerated if the United States wishes to be the leader in binding a “World


Community.”


The non-westerners view this global decision making in such a way such in


effect makes


“the West look as if it is using its international institutions, military


power, and economic


resources to run the world in ways that will maintain Western


predominance, protect


Western interest and promote Western political and economic values”


(Huntington 40).


These views do have merit to them nonetheless, because the United States


does use it


worldly powers to influence these international councils in situations


when the so called


anti-American countries are involved. Just because one nations


civilization and culture are


totally different from that of the Western nations, the US should not deem


which cultures


are acceptable and non-acceptable in the realm of the world. Because for


the most part as


Huntington states “Western ideas such as individualism, liberalism,


constitutionalism,


human rights, equality, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, free markets,


the separation of


church and state, often have little in Islamic, Confucian, Hindu, Buddhist


or Orthodox


cultures” (Huntington 40). By trying to influence its views through the


United Nations and


International Monetary Fund on the non-Western Countries, the U.S. is in


fact just


building up more negative sentiment towards itself, which can be seen in


the support for


fundamentalism of all types by the younger generation in the non-Western


cultures. If the


U.S. does not attempt to change it’s image in the near future, a new


generation of


fundamentalist will begin carry out all sorts of terroristic activity


against the U.S. that will


be more devastating than the World Trade Center Bombing , because hate


towards the


West will be have been instilled sense birth, and the terrorist will feel


that means are


justifying the cause.


It is in these policies, agendas, and attempts at foreign


investment, and humbleness


throughout the world that the United States will be able to maintain its


classification as a


world power, economically, politically, and socially. If the United


States does not act upon


these ideas and problems in the near future the results might not be


immediate; but we will


see the effects well into the twenty- first century when we are no longer


regarded as the


super power we once were.


Bibliography


Haynes, Jeff . Religion in Third World Politics. Boulder, Colorado:


Lynee


Rienner, 1994.


Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations: The West Versus the


Rest.”


Foreign Affiars Vol.72 (1993). No.3: 39-41.


” Japan Remains Pacific’s Largest Trading Partner.” Sunday Star (1996):


Star


Publications, (Maylasia) Berhad. (Transmitted From Netscape).


Kaplan, Robert. “Democracy’s Trap.” New York Times 24 Dec. 1995: E9


Kennedy, Paul. Winners and Losers in the Developing World: Preparing


the Twenty


First Century. New York: Random House, 1993.


Miller, Judith. “The Challenge of Radical Islam.” The Other World:


Culture and Politics


in the Third World (1993) 57-58.


Rosenberg, Tina. “Beyond Election.” The Other World: Culture and


Politics in the


Third World (1993) 28.


Savona, Dave. “Choosing a Nerve Center Overseas.” Foreign Trade Nov.


1995: 11-22,


50.


Annotated Bibliography


Haynes, Jeff. Religion in Third World Politics. Boulder, Colorado:


Lynee


Rienner,1994 . This is a book concerning Religion in the


political realm of


third world nations. It focuses on the religions of Islam and


Christianity, and


examines their positions within the major Third World nations such as


Iran, Iraq,


Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Peru, and Chile. Haynes addresses the topic of


religion in


third world politics by showing us the parallels, and the conflicts


they face within


these nations. A brief history of the situation is usually given, and


is followed by the


problems and successes the religions have had within the desired


country. Hanyes offers


his own solutions to many of the dilemmas described within his book.


This source


provided very useful information particularly on the involvement


Christianity in the


political movement of Brazil.


Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations: The West Versus the


Rest.”


Foreign Affairs Vol. 72 (1993). No. 3: 39-41. This was a


section of


Huntington’s article The Clash of Civilizations. He explains how


the West


dominates the international economic, security, and political


institutions, and


how many countries are striving for a “Western” way of life. He also


talks about


how those countries who’s citizens dislike how the west uses its


power in the United


Nations, to enforce its will upon others. He lists the


differences between the Western


ideas and the “non-Western” and gives ideas on how to have a “universal


civilization.” Huntington’s article gave many valid points on


dealing with conflicts,


and ways to go about resolving them.


“Japan Remains Pacific’s Largest Trading Partner.” Sunday Star (1996):


Star


Publications, (Maylasia) Berhad. (Transmitted from Netscape).


This article


was transmitted off the World Wide Web by using Netscape. It was a


news article


from the Malaysian paper Sunday Star, that gave an insight into


how Japan has


become the Pacific’s largest partner. The paper also showed some


statistics about


Japan, and the other major players that trade with Pacific countries


such Vietnam,


Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Cambodia. This news paper article


was used


because it came from country in the Pacific and gave a definite status


on Japan’s economic


dominance in the region.


Kaplan, Robert. “Democracy’s Trap.” New York Times 24 Dec. 1995: E9.


This is a editorial article for the general public about how the


United States should


stop trying so passionately to establish multiparty systems in every


third world nation. Its


not that Kaplan is against the instilling of democratic ideas in


developing nations, but he


believes the U.S. should go about it in a different way. He


explains how we must let


the idea grow and go through natural process within the country, even


though it might not


strengthen the nation at first. Kaplan also says that the U.S. should


shift its emphasis from


trying to hold elections for third world nations, to promoting


family planning,


environmental and urban renewal.


Kennnedy, Paul. Winners and Losers in the Developing World: Preparing the


Twenty


First Century. New York: Random House, 1993.


Miller, Judith. “The Challenge of Radical Islam.” The Other World:


Culture and Politics


in the Third World. (1993) 44-56. In this article, Miller explains


the challenges the west


must face in dealing with all the different aspects of the Islamic


Religion in the Middle


East. Since there are so many different sects, and branches to the


religion, Miller


explains what the major characteristics are of each group, whether


they are extremist


militants, devote Muslims, or terrorist. For the most part, she


paves the way of how


the West should go about in dealing with Islamic nations, and how


forms of


democracy might be instilled in many of these nations. She also


tells how


negative most of these countries feel towards Western ideologies,


but also shows


the allies the West has built in the region with Egypt, and Saudi


Arabia. Millers article


was very informative on the subject Islam, and the way Western


foreign policies should


act towards it.


Rosenberg, Tina. “Beyond Elections.” The Other World: Culture


and Politics


in the Third World. (1993) 28. In this brief article, Tina Rosenberg


talks about


how the US should react to the Governments that are taking helm in


many of the countries


of South and Central America. She explains how a Marxist Government


was elected in


the country of Chile by a democratic process involving most of its


citizens. This


article was very brief, and was used solely because it tells that


the West must show


the respect to this country for participating in a type of democratic


process, even


a Marxist government was elected.


Savona, Dave. “Choosing a Nerve Center Overseas.” Foreign Trade. Nov.


1995:


11-22, 50. In this article that comes from a magazine dedicated


strictly to that of


foreign Trade, Dave Savona tells of the importance of establishing a


type of


regional headquarters in countries overseas. He explains how it is


essential for American


companies to invest in overseas markets, not just in countries such as


Germany, and


Japan, but too rising nations such as Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Hong


Kong, Australia, and


Hungary. It informs as to the natural resources that each country


offers, and the economic


opportunities available for the U.S. and the desired nation. This


source was used


primarily for its opinion of investing in the countries of Brazil


and Chile by the


U.S.

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