In his book Resurgence of the West, Rosecrance claims that after centuries of success, the United States is facing an economic and political decline due to the rise of China. He suggests that the United States can fix this problem by one of two ways. The first is isolationism, but that means the United States will have to completely remove itself from international affairs. On the other hand, Rosecrance proposes that the United States form an economic coalition with Europe, to stand up against rising China and ‘non-western’ countries. Eventually, both regions will witness an economic prosperity through this merger. As a result, this will prompt China and other ‘non-western’ nations to join this alliance. Although Rosecrance makes valid arguments, I will focus on his second, which has a major flaw. Should the United States and Europe (and eventually China and ‘non-western’ nations) form economic an alliance, there would be no need for competition. With no competition, there is no threat and ultimately, the use for naval power becomes futile. Hence, militaristic organizations such as NATO will cease to exist. In the past, when empires formed alliances, it’s either due to the speed and possibility of war, the change of power from nation to nation, and whether there is a presence or absence of ideological problems. It’s no secret that we live in a competitive world. This has been proven much throughout history as empires have competed against each other. The conclusion, is that as one empire rises, another falls. From the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we’ve had the Holy Roman Empire followed by the Mongol Empire, to the French, British, American and several other empires. All with the exception of American, no longer exist t... ... middle of paper ... ...st World War: on one hand, he couldn’t care less of his actions, he just wanted to create a powerful and a better Germany by seizing other nations, eventually he wanted to rule entire world. On the other hand, other nations, didn’t not want to be under Germany’s control nor did they want Germany to be better than they, therefore, they fought against Germany. In addition to Rosecrance’s argument, an economic alliance between Europe and the United States would bring to demise NATO. NATO is militaristic organization, instead of having wars, countries will be having economic wars. Ultimately, a powerful American-European enterprise will develop and the rest of world is likely to join. Internal problems are likely to occur as some countries will benefit more from this merger than other. And with an organization this concentrated, expect corruption to be at its highest.
Shambaugh, David, “Lifting the EU Arms Embargo on China: An American Perspective”, Discussion paper prepared for the CSIS/SWP conference “China’s Rise: Diverging U.S.- EU Approaches and Perceptions,” Berlin, April 28-29, 2005
During 1940-1970, the USSR and the USA were the world’s leading superpowers. After WW2, it was the US money that helped rebuild nearly all of Western Europe, putting nearly half a dozen countries into debt. They opened trade and helped Europe’s ravaged economy to get back onto its feet. They did so by creating the ‘Marshall Plan’ on June the 5th, 1947. The plans aim was to reconstruct Western Europe and at the same time to stop Communism spreading to them – the Americans were avid believers in the Domino Theory, and believed that communism would take over all of Europe if they did not intervene. They also created other policies such as the Truman doctrine on March the 12th, 1947 (which is a set of principles that state that the US as the worlds ‘leading country’ will help out other democratic governments worldwide) and NATO, 4th of April 1949.
On the other hand, hard-core realists predict that since China’s economy is on the rise, and United States economy is declining, it may create conflict. During World War I, a war occurred between England, a declining dominant hegemony, and Germany, a dissatisfied challenger on the rise (Wong, The Rise of Great Powers, Nov.18). However, war will not spark between China and...
According to Kissinger, Wilson had dreamed of a “Community of Power” that would collectively provide international security. This community would come to be known as the “League of Nations.” Thanks in great part to Wilson’s grand vision, global cooperation is now being achieved through organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). International organizations like the UN and NATO have deep Wilsonian roots. Since 2004, NATO has added nine Baltic states to the organization (making a total of 28 members), which has arguably strengthened security cooperation efforts in that region. It is apparent Wilson’s dream of a “Community of Power” has persevered, due to the continued U.S. practice of promoting democracy as an instrument of conflict
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe became the East nations, and the United States, centered on NATO formed the West nations, dividing the world in two. Belonging to neither the East nor the West, developing countries were called Third World nations and became a stand-in for wars between the East and West (Gaddis, The Strategies of Containment 70-78). The end of WWII and the beginning of the C... ... middle of paper ... ... a, from containment to rollback in Korea; welcoming European integration because it portended the creation of an economic unit that encouraged technological innovation; building a configuration of power in the international system, nurturing free markets while safeguarding American interests, a constant in Washington for more than 35 years; and, free political economy at home were just a few of the strategic methods used to change, influence, and shape American domestic policy (Leffler, The Specter of Communism,100-129).
There is a point of time in certain a country’s history where they become dominant and more powerful than ever before. During this elongated process a country becomes an empire. The British and the Ottomans were states that succeeded in this process, but becoming an empire such as theirs required vast amounts of political and social maneuvering to expand their boundaries, called imperialism. Imperialism is, “a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force”. By becoming a modern nation enjoying economic prosperity and political stability, the British and the Ottomans created an imperialistic impact over the globe with distinctive motivations and approaches especially during the transition period of gaining ample amount power and influence globally.
Imperialism led to the three other contributors to the war because without the tension induced by imperialism, secret alliances would not b...
Before World War II, it became very clear that the US would play a new, and important leading role in the world. Henry Luce, author of The American Century, wrote about the new roles he anticipated the US to have. His essay calls the US to action in leading the rest of the world in our ways. About a year later on May 8th, 1942, Vice President Henry Wallace proposed similar ideas in a speech. He and Luce both saw the US as leading powers but disagreed on how the leading should be done. Wallace portrays the US in a friendlier manner. He calls the upcoming era the century of the common man while Luce calls it the American century. This topic is relevant today. How much involvement should leading countries have in developing ones and how should
“While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls - the World.” Lord Byron. This essay will discuss the similarities of military, economics and systems of government between the Roman Empire of the 6th century BCE and the United States of America of the 20th century. History has revealed that all superpowers fall eventually, although much time has passed since the glory days of Rome we see in 2015 the largest superpower in charge, the United States. There are many similarities that can be drawn between the American superpower and the Roman Empire such as the same founding of government and both dominated in military, as well as economic similarities. This leads to the conclusion that because the rise to power between the two powers was so similar, the downfall will be equally parallel.
Alliance while although good overall also happen to drag other countries into each other’s internal affairs. For E...
Alliances played a hefty role in the inevitability of World War One. Countries were constantly at each other’s necks and needed power in order to protect themselves from each other. This is where alliances came in; countries could seek shelter from others by developing truces with close friends. Having a truce was beneficial in most ways because it provided the illusion of being a bigger power, and offered one extra support in case of a crippling event. Then again they did also create tensions between the countries that could only escalate further. For example, in the year 1879 there was a dual alliance created between Germany and Austria-Hungry. This alliance was created to protect them from Russia, who ...
His concept of a “European Europe” was tied to the notion of a Europe “from the Atlantic to the Urals.” The basic idea here was that the two hegemonic powers, America and USSR, would gradually loosen their grip over their respective scopes of influence in Europe; and Europe would gain independence. The Cold War initiated this vision and as a result he created enemies in Washington.
When countries formed alliances with each other it gave them protection, if a country was threatened or under attack then the alliance would come to that country’s aid. Countries made an alliance when they both needed protection from a stronger country. When Austria-Hungary had heard about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, they went to war with Serbia.... ... middle of paper ...
In the race to be the best, China is clearly outperforming the United States. China has strong economic fundamentals¬ such as “a high savings rate, huge labor pool, and powerful work ethic” (Rachman, Gideon. "Think Again: American Decline). Their economy has grown an astonishing 9-10% over the past thirty years; almost double of what it used to be decades ago. China is also the “world’s greatest manufacturer and its greatest market” (Rachman). The continuing growth of China's economy is a source of concern for not only the U.S. but surrounding nations as well. One could argue that the U.S. need not worry about China’s growth because of the spread of globalization and that western ideologies would influence China to turn to democracy. Yet China has still managed to “incorporate censorship and one party rule with continuing economic success” (Rachman) and remains a communist country. Hypothetically, even if China does resort to a democratic state, this does not gua...
An example of this is during the cold war a large amount of treaties were created such as the SALT I treaty and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The cold war was primarily a defense of democracy and keeping communism from spreading. This is a very good example on how alliances can form. Countries that are standing for the same point will typically feel the pressure to team up and become stronger. This is a way to help ensure safety and help build strength. Many of the alliances that are currently in formation today are based off of what happened during the largest arms race in history. Western nations such as the United States, Great Britain, and France formed alliances. Arms races have begun to shape some countries policies and how they go about foreign relations. The United States was a rival to communist countries which was heightened due to an arms race. NATO was one of the largest building blocks for current international relations. Ever since the organization began in 1949 more and more countries have joined the western nations. The point of this organization was to create a military alliance against any attack from an outside and usually communist country. Most of these alliances are still formed today after over 60 years. Though out an arms race countries will do their best to keep and hold alliances because of the threat of military attack. This strongly affects international relations because it can change who you trade and who you are allies with. On top of this it strongly changes countries spending policies