The Pros And Cons Of The Cold War

Global politics has changedprofoundly since the conclusion of the Cold War. Prior to

the Cold War, global power was essentially dominated by two major states: the United States of

America andthe USSR. Since then, however, the emerging structure of global power has left the

United States in a unique position that the modern world had never seen before.1 The United

States assumed the role as the sole superpower in the world andhas remained as that ever since.

Besides the United States, other states also claim to be major powers in the world today,

however, basedon economic numbers, war statistics, and abasic eye test, the United States

seems to be a clear number one. With respect to the United States’ contemporary power, Samuel

Huntington

Realists have drastically different views thantheir Neoliberal counterparts, however, both sides

provide strong, clear arguments and appropriately dictate American Foreign Policy. After

careful analysis of these contrasting ideas, one can reach two major conclusions. First, the

United States currently sits on a pedestal, and as aresult is granted unique international power.

Therefore, it needs to act swiftly and sufficiently, whether directly or unilaterally, after athreat to

not only the United States but also the collective international world. In recent years, the United

1“The Lonely Superpower." Foreign Aflairs. N.p., 28 Jan. 2009. Web. (Accessed 28 October 2015)
2Ibid. 3Ibid.

States has essentially attempted to unilaterally pressure other states to demonstrate

Where someone sits on a realist/internationalist scale, dictates what

he/she thinks about using unilateral force. Because this issue is so politicized, it is hard to

determine when to use unilateral force. A realist who believes in an anarchic international

system, would most likely prefer to use unilateral force whenever possible. This contrasts what a

liberal internationalist might think as they would most likely prefer to work multilaterally to

resolve an issue. Since the end of the Second World War however, the Unites States has, for the

most part, acted unilaterally with respect to solving international conflict. This is mostly dueto

the fact that after WWII, the United States was the main contributor in rebuilding a weakened

Europe since Stalin and others were reluctant to help. As a result, the United States gradually

assumed the role as a benevolent