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 same 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.