Rory
McClurg
GVPT200
The world has no
overarching authority to arbitrate and solve problems, thus the world is in
anarchy. With this fact established, states, much like people, all act in their
own best interest. In an unforgiving world, a realist style agenda is the most dominant
form of foreign policy in the realm of world politics. This idea has been
reflected in international politics, United States foreign policy, and the
trends of dominant states.
Realists would say
that the motive behind every decision a state makes in the international
political scene is to further what they call, “the national interest.” In
addition, they believe cooperation is virtually impossible. This notion is
completely confirmed by the creation of the United Nations, which is supposed
to represent all countries, but instead favors just the powerful ones. During
the creation of the UN, a security council tasked with international peace and
security, basically meaning everything involving the military. The Security Council
was established with five permanent members, the most powerful nations in the
world at the time, and ten members who are elected serve two-year terms. These
ten other members are just for show. The only states who have real power are
the five permanent members, who have veto powers. This is true because each of
the top players at creation of the United Nations, China, France, Russia, Great
Britain, and the US were all looking to give themselves as much of an upper
hand as possible militarily. Military power is a fundamental aspect of realism;
and this Security Council reinforces how important military power is to the
nations of the world. This fact furthers the argument of the dominance of
realism in the world of international politics.
The United States
foreign policy post 1950 is based on the concept of relative power and
dominance. The US was locked in a brutal cold war, pitting the two global
hegemons against the each other, each trying to become the world’s dominant
power. The US took every possible
opportunity to weaken the Soviet Union. The idea of relative power dictated the
US foreign policy so much, that the US would take a loss as long as it caused a
bigger loss for the Soviet Union. During the Soviet-Afghan war, the US provided
the mujahideen, an untrustworthy “ally” to say the least, with millions of
dollars worth of weapons, a relative loss for the US. As a direct consequence
to this action, the Soviet Union started to lose this war, ultimately, one of
the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet State. With the absence of the
USSR, the US became the most dominant power in the world economically and
militarily. The United States foreign policy reflects the dominance of the
realist policy, and the importance of the power.
The fact that
military strength and security is equivalent to dominance is no secret. Most of
the successful dominant powers turn their national economic opulence into
massive upsizing of the military, solidifying their status as a dominant power.
The importance of the military is a static element of the most important states
in world history, from the time of the Romans unto the present. To be
considered a dominant power, one must be militarily strong. The Romans turned
their economic dominance into military power, highlighting the importance of
security and protection of their economic assets, or as some would say, their
national interest. The same is true with Great Britain during their era of
dominance, they realized that in order to be dominant and protect the national
interest they must maintain a massive military, the same can be said for the
US.
In conclusion, the structure
of the current UN, the dominance of the United States, and the common trends of
dominant states throughout history all reaffirm the fact that a realist style
of policy will always be the most dominant.
