US as an International Peace-Keeping Force

U.S. Role as 'Policemen of the World'

Thesis and Outline Draft

Introduction and Thesis

currently holds the most important and influential role in international politics and represents a decisive player in all recent international conflicts. This role takes the form of political and military interventions, international and bilateral engagements as well as multilateral brokerage of peace talks. The basic principles of such an approach are the fostering of peaceful, democratic, and secure international environment. At the same time though, it must be pointed out that the entire international community does not always support such actions and often it has been said that the United States acts as the "policeman of the world" (Kissinger, 1995). It must be stressed that the current approach the United States have on foreign policy has not changed since the end of the Civil War and has guided the U.S. In military and political interventions in the last years, such as Syria or Tunisia.

One of the most important aspects that determined the way in which foreign policy would be conducted after the Civil War was the renewal of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. The Doctrine provided a clear right of the U.S. To intervene in the internal affairs of its neighboring territories in order to maintain its security. More precisely, the doctrine stated "it is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition in any form with indifference. If we look to the comparative strength and resources of Spain and those new Governments, and their distance from each other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is still the true policy of the United States to leave the parties to themselves, in hope that other powers will pursue the same course" (The Avalon Project, 1996). The background of the Doctrine included the European interference in Latin America and the Cuban situation that provided Spain with the possibility to influence the region. The United States therefore extended its areal of security to include the legitimacy to intervene in neighboring countries to maintain a pro-American approach.

This doctrine took a new twist immediately after the end of the Second World War thru the Truman Doctrine that allowed the United States to intervene in other countries of the world in order to contain the communist threat during the bi-polar world conflagration (Calvocoressi, 1987). This allowed the U.S. To actually act as a world policeman by military intervening in the war in Korea in the early 1950s, the Vietnam War, Cambodia and Laos in the 60s and 70s, as well as other regional conflicts that were deemed crucial for the battle against communism and for the well being of the United States during the Cold War. The clear support that the United States provides Israel since its formation in 1947 is yet another example of the role the U.S. plays both regionally and globally, given that the large part of the Arab world had serious difficulties in recognizing the Israeli state and the U.S. constantly vouched for Israel to geopolitically be admitted in the Middle East.

In recent years, the Syrian situation as well as Tunisian crisis can be seen as representative for the way in which the U.S. manifests its role as global policeman. In Syria in 2013, the use of chemical weapons determined President Obama to declare that the Syrian air strike intervention was necessary not only for the global security but also for the national security. Further, after the August 21, 2013 events, the President said that "for nearly seven decades the United States has been the anchor of global security. This has meant doing more than forging international agreements. It has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the world's a better place because we have borne them." clearly marking the U.S. As a global policeman. Furthermore, he went on to say "Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver." (Federal News Service, 2013)

Another example of the way in which the U.S. intervenes as a global policeman is through diplomatic and political means. The Tunisian situation is relevant in this sense. In 2011, Tunisia was the first country to break away as part of the Arab Spring revolution and, despite the fact that there are reports of the U.S. having supported the previous regime of Ben Ali, the American government was among the first ones to encourage the democratic transition for Tunisia (Shahshahani and Mullin, 2012). This was a result of certain fears of a revolution that would not be able to be contained and stirred towards a democratic resolution and the fear of countries in the Middle East succumbing to extremists was sufficient enough to engage the U.S. diplomatically and politically in all Arab Spring revolutions. Both the military intervention in Syria and the diplomatic intervention in Tunisia are clear reminiscences of the post Civil War tailored foreign policy that somewhat entitles the U.S. To consider international conflicts as threats to its own national security and act accordingly.