Realism and Foreign Policy

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the events of September 11th, Pearl Harbor, the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, focusing primarily on the American Foreign Policy related to these events. The paper discusses how in times of crisis, Americans come together in the common goal of defeating an enemy. The paper then discusses how the tradition of neorealism has a deep-rooted historical basis in the political philosophy of realism.

From the Paper:

"As a theory, national character arguments rely heavily on moralistic arguments-that our way of life is better, morally superior, to other political systems. It "equate[s] the country's national values-individual liberty, religious tolerance, human rights-with universal values" (Hook and Spanier 2004, p.353). This concept of is evident in the language of the 9/11 Commission Report; it devotes an entire chapter (13) to "unity" and different types of unity among Americans and our allies-"unity of effort across the foreign-domestic divide, unity of effort in the intelligence community, unity of effort in sharing information, unity of effort in the Congress." (National Commission, 399-428). This emphasis on "unity" recalls past instances of defending the national character and associates the struggle with terrorism with prior instances of national unity-the Cold War, or Pearl Harbor, for example."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Amin, Samir, "The Political Economy of the Twentieth Century," Monthly Review, June 2000, http://www.monthlyreview.org/600amin.htm
• Kirkpatrick, Jeane. Dictatorships and Double Standards, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982.
• Krauthammer, Charles, "Today Tehran, Tomorrow the World," Time April 3, 2006, p. 96
• National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the U.S., The 9/11 Commission Report. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2004
• Spanier, John and Steven Hook. American Foreign Policy Since World War II. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004.

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