Geopolitics and American Foreign Politics

Geopolitics and American Foreign Politics

Geopolitics is a theory that can be applied to countries throughout the world. Over the last few years America's foreign policy strategies have been called into question. For the purposes of this discussion is to examine geopolitics in the context of American Foreign Policy.

Many scholars and people throughout the world believe that America has taken the wrong approach in recent years as it pertains to foreign policy. These criticisms came in the wake of the war with Iraq. It has been posited that geopolitics greatly influences American foreign policy. According to Garfinkle (2003) America's relationships with certain countries is motivated by regional geopolitics. This argument can be made, particularly as it pertains to the Middle East. At the current time there is a great deal of conversation taking place concerning Iran and there efforts to create nuclear weapons. America has stated every resolutely that it is opposed to Iran having nuclear weapons.

This opposition to Iran's development of nuclear weapons is of such concern to America because Iran is hostile towards Israel, a long time American ally. Not only is Israel an ally to America, but any attack against Israel would further destabilize the region and lead to violence throughout the region. This region is important to America and essential to the American Economy because of the oil industry and the amount of oil imported into America from the Middle East. Although it is true that America is concerned with the loss of human life that may occur if the region is destabilized, one of the primary reasons for the types of aggressive policies has to do with the protection of oil supplies, this is one way in which geopolitics affects foreign policy. Although there are oil supplies in America, they are not as vast and not as readily available as the supplies in the Middle East. In recent months America has seen the price of gas prices skyrocket. The increase in the price was caused primarily by increases in global demand for oil. Gas prices would be much higher if the oil supplies in the Middle East were disabled because of war and instability. America is now in a position where it is competing with China and India for oil. The population in America is much smaller than the populations of China and India. In addition these countries are growing at an alarming rate. Geopolitics dictates that America must adapt and attempt to pursue foreign policies that will protect American interest -- namely oil (Karle, 2008).

The influence of geopolitics can also be seen in the manner in which America relates/cooperates with other nations throughout the world. Because of America's location (with large bodies of water separating us from Europe and other parts of the world) there are many foreign policy decisions that are made in a hasty manner because America does not have to deal with some of the consequences of the policy. Such was the case with Vietnam and Iraq (Hanhim ki, 2004). The people of these nations have to deal with the absence of utilities and the destruction of the nation's infrastructure (roads, hospitals, schools). The people also have to deal with the general instability of the country and the government caused by the American invasion.

While many American families have lost loved ones in the war, the majority of Americans are not personally affected by the war in the manner that the Iraqi people are affected. Not only are such policies detrimental to people who have to live through war, Americans suffer in far reaching ways (Pierce). According to an article entitled "American Values or Human Rights" contains a quote from Henry Kisiinger which states, the tradition known as American exceptionalism, within which American values were historically embedded, was one of the most important casualties of the Vietnam War...he claimed that the war had opened a rift, still unhealed, in American society and destroyed faith in the uniqueness and universal relevance of American values...One unfortunate consequence was a continuing failure to develop a new, rational foreign policy consensus (Kissinger 2000). Americans after Vietnam could no longer confidently assert their own values or feel comfortable about imposing them on others, and were consequently at a loss as to what to do with their own predominant power (Kane, 2003, pg.772)."