Regaining economic strength should be a geopolitical priority where trade is not a subordinate of national-security but is national security,” Clyde Prestowitz. In his personal statement of 7th October 2010 to mark the 40th anniversary of Fiji’s Independence, US President Barrack Obama, affirmed his support for the Fiji Government by stating, “The people of our nations enjoy a friendship founded on the mutual commitments of our societies to peace, freedom, rule of law and democratic ideals." And declared, “I am confident that we will build ever closer ties between our countries.” Ironically though, Prime Minister Bainimarama chose to celebrate Fiji’s 40th Anniversary of Independence attending the World Expo in Shanghai engaging, with new friend China where he stated that since Fiji lost out to Australia, New Zealand and America, in terms of much needed aid for infrastructure, water and electricity. China stepped in and provided the aid for these projects. My argument follows that the Obama administration has made a difference to US-Fiji relations in differentiating itself from the isolationist policies portrayed against Fiji by its traditional allies and some international organizations. In terms of its foreign policy, and what can be seen as a geopolitical move, the United States is rebalancing its shift towards the Asia-Pacific region where military, political, trade and investment will be priorities. Although United States National Security advisor, Donilon insists this is not a containment of China, the proverbial outlook is that the central factor driving President Obama’s pivot back to the Asia-Pacific region with the redeployment of American priorities and military forces away from Europe and the Middle East to Asia i... ... middle of paper ... ... reassessment of national security and geopolitical priorities where the decline of U.S. influence in Asia is not the outcome of lacking in military power and presence but the eroding competitiveness. To this effect USAID has opened up trade, investment opportunities in Fiji and its regional partners including climate change projects that in the future would lead to sustaining trade and employment of the American people. Influence of Obama’s Pacific Pivot on Fiji’s ‘Look North Policy’ The Pacific pivot would be the counterweight against the ‘The Look North Policy’, where China has become a major aid donor and Russia is supporting Fiji’s peacekeeping in the United Nations. The influence has only brought about a balancing of old and new partnerships, where the United States and traditional allies are no longer hegemonic interests in Fiji’s foreign policy. With global
It is somehow strange for today’s reader to find out that the situation with America’s foreign affairs hasn’t changed much. As some clever people have said, “The History book on the shelf is always repeating itself.” Even after nineteen years, Americans think of themselves as citizens of the strongest nation in the world. Even after the September the 11th. Even after Iraq. And Afghanistan.
Moreover, economic interdependence promotes peaceful trade between countries since it is beneficial and avoids war at all cost. For example, “China’s economy is thoroughly integrated in this complex interdependence global economy,” thus it would be suicidal for China to start war (Wong, The Rise of Great Powers, Nov.18). China free trades with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has developed a profitable relationship that led to trade surplus (Kaplan, pg.3). As a result, starting conflicts with the ASEAN will threaten the Chinese economy because it will drastically impact free trade and will cause a downfall in profits. The possibility of war between China and United States is remote because China would rather benefit from resources such as, security, technology, and market that United States provides (Wong, The Rise of Great Powers, Nov.18). Although economic power shifts to China, United States provides security because it has always been the dominant hegemony; therefore, it has a better and powerful economy (Green, pg.34). It is evident that China’s economy is rapidly increasing, but it still has no interest in being the head hegemony and therefore does not challenge United States. That being said, countries choose to avoid conflicts with United States or their trading partners since it will negatively impact their markets and investments.
In no field other than politics does the justification for action often come from a noteworthy event and the true cause stays hidden behind the headlines. The United States’ transformation from a new state to a global superpower has been a methodical journey molded by international conditions (the global terrain for statecraft), the role of institutions and their programmed actions, and ultimately, the interests of actors (the protection of participants in making policy’s items and i...
The arrogance of power is an insightful read for those who wish to put today 's global events in perspective. Although it was originally written in 1966 and may be considered dated, Fulbright’s eloquently written arguments are timeless and are important sources to help us gain a greater comprehension of what makes what Fulbright would consider a wise and strategic foreign policy. This book would be of great assistance in developing an objective view of American foreign policies as seen from abroad.
Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, challenges conventional wisdom and argues that the United States should not seek to remain the indispensable nation in the international system in “Delusions of Indispensability”. Carpenter depicts the concept of the U.S seeking to remain the indispensable nation as “dubious” and a “blueprint for strategic overextension” of resources leading to a “failed paradigm” (Pg.19). Carpenter frames his argument against the indispensable nation thesis around the following topics: unilateralism versus multilateralism, U.S. engagement as binary light switch, the failure to acknowledge that U.S. engagement can take different
Foreign policy in focus. (1999,November). In Focus: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy at the End of the Century: Lost Opportunities and New Dangers.
Key features… A 1997 White Paper on Foreign and Trade Policy called ‘In the National Interest’ is the most important single statement on FP in recent years. It set the guideline for FP according to the National Interest. Implicit in the National Interest is to maintain national security through international diplomacy and readiness to defend the continent and territories against possible armed attack or other aggression, to protect and promote the nation’s economic welfare and living standards, which increasingly depend on global economic growth, free international trade and the confidence of global international markets, and to keep our democratic way of life, and our civil and political liberties.
One of the most vigorous debates focuses on the current status of the United States hegemony and whether or not it is in decline. This begs the question, if the United States is indeed declining in status, will it still be an influential player or not? I argue that the United States is losing its prominent position as the hegemonic leader of the world, but will still remain an influential player in global politics in the following decades to come. Its decline is an imminent result of their domestic issues, the violation of international laws and economic deficit, which have posed a grave and serious challenge for the United States. On the other hand, I propose that the United States will remain a dominant force due to its innovation, cultural influences around the world, and military prowess. In their articles, “How Americans Can Survive the rise of the Rest”, by Fareed Zakaria and “America and Europe in the Asian Century”, by Kishore Mahbubani, provides two distinctive and thought provoking arguments from a declinist perspective. However, both articles are susceptible to criticism and will be further examined in order to understand the United States prominent role.
There appears to be in the world an era of unprecedented peace. Contrary to the predictions that the end of the Cold War will bring about the fragmentation of international order and the emergence of multipolar rivalry among atomistic national units, today the world’s major powers enjoy co-operative relations and world economy is progressively liberalising and integrating. The peace and prosperity of the current era, however are sustained by the constant operation of a single factor: American relative power capability (Kupchan, 1998, p. 40).
Pavel B. and Reynolds J. (2012) “Why NATO Is a Pacific Power” The National Interest [web] Available Via: http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/why-nato-pacific-power-7022 [Retrieved on: 06/05/2014]
Fedman, David. "Rethinking Asia: “Smart Power” and US-China Policy." The Olive & Arrow. The Word Press, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. .
Wainwright, E 2003, ‘Responding to state failure—the case of Australia and Solomon Islands’, Australian Journal of International Affair, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 485-498.
... The Costs of US Hegemony: Military Power, Military Spending, and US Trade Performance. Sage.
Realist perspective explains globalization in terms of the relative distribution of power (Nau 2007, 278). In their opinion, trade and economic activities thrives “only under favorable security conditions,” and those conditions rely on the relative distribution of power (Nau 2007, 279). They believe that alliances and hegemony are the two most affirmative security conditions. “’Free trade is more likely within than across political-military alliances; and …alliances have had a much stronger effect on trade in a bipolar than in to a multipolar world.’” (Nau 2007, 279) In other words, the fewer dominating states with power there are in the system, the stronger is the alliance and its effect on trade. In a multipolar world, countries cannot trust each other in trade because alliances are rarely permanent and therefore, countries might use the gains from trade to increase its military power and threaten to cause damage to the other country. Thus, realists argue that,
Inkenberry, John. “The Rise of China and the Future of the West.” Foreign Affairs. The Council of Foreign Relations. Jan 2008. Web. 9 Mar 2014.