International Relations Response Paper

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.