American Foreign Policy

Noha Bakr PhD

The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United
States, including all the Bureaus and Offices in the
United States Department of State, as mentioned in theForeign
Policy Agendaof the Department of State, are
"to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world for
the benefit of the American people and the international community
"export controls, including nonproliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear
hardware; measures to foster commercial interaction with foreign nations and
to safeguard American business abroad; international commodity
agreements; international education; and protection of American citizens
abroad and expatriation
Historical Overview

The main trend regarding the history of U.S.

foreign policy since the American Revolution is
the shift from:
non-interventionismbefore and after
World War I,
to its growth as a world power and global
hegemonyduring and since World War II
and the end of theCold Warin the 20th
century
Historical Overview

Foreign policy themes were expressed considerably in

George Washington'sfarewell address; these included among other
things,:
Presidential 'doctrines &Policies became the basis of theFederalist Party
in the 1790s
observing good faith and justice towards all nations and cultivating peace and
harmony with all, excluding both "inveterate antipathies against particular
nations, and passionate attachments for others",
"steering clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world",
and advocating trade with all nations..
But the rivalJeffersoniansfeared Britain and favored France in the 1790s, declaring
theWar of 1812on Britain.
After the 1778 alliance with France, the U.S. did not sign another permanent treaty
until theNorth Atlantic Treatyin 1949.
Historical Overview

Isolationist : In general, the United States followed anisolationistforeign policy until

attacks against U.S. shipping byBarbary corsairs spurred the country into developing
a naval force projection capability, resulting in theFirst Barbary Warin 1801.
Despite occasional entanglements with European Powers such as theWar of 1812
and the 1898SpanishAmerican War, U.S. foreign policy was marked by steady
expansion of its foreign trade and scope during the 19th century, and it maintained
its policy of avoiding wars with and between European powers.
Concerning its domestic borders, the 1803Louisiana Purchasedoubled the
nation's geographical area; Spain ceded the territory ofFloridain 1819; annexation
brought Texas
Short experiment in imperialism; In 1845; a war with Mexico in 1848 added
California, Arizona and New Mexico. The U.S. boughtAlaskafrom the Russian Empire
in 1867, and it annexed theRepublic of Hawaiiin 1898. Victory over Spain in 1898
brought thePhilippines, andPuerto Rico, as well as oversight of Cuba. The short
experiment in imperialism ended by 1908, as the U.S. turned its attention to the
Panama Canal and the stabilization of regions to its south, including Mexico.
Historical Overview
20th century / World War I

World War I the United States, along with allied powers, defeated its enemies
and increased its international reputation.
PresidentWilson'sFourteen Pointswas developed from his idealisticWilsonianism
program of spreading democracy and fighting militarism so as to end any wars
.The resultingTreaty of Versailles, due to European allies' punitive and territorial
designs, showed insufficient conformity with these points and the U.S. signed
separate treaties with each of its adversaries; due to Senate objections
The U.S. never joined theLeague of Nations, which was established as a result of
Wilson's initiative.
In the 1920s, the United States followed an independent course, and succeeded
in a program ofnaval disarmament, andrefunding the German economy . New
York became the financial capital of the world, [citation needed]but th eWall
Street Crash of 1929hurled the Western industrialized world into the
Great Depression. American trade policy relied on high tariffs under the
Republicans, and reciprocal trade agreements under the Democrats, but in any
case exports were at very low levels in the 1930s.
Historical Overview
20th century / World War II

WWII:
The United States adopted a non-interventionist foreign policy from 1932 to 1938, but then President
Franklin D. Roosevelt moved toward strong support of the Allies in their wars against Germany and
Japan.
As a result of intense internal debate, the national policy was one of becoming the
Arsenal of Democracy , that is financing and equipping the Allied armies without sending American
combat soldiers.
Roosevelt mentioned four fundamental freedoms, which ought to be enjoyed by people "everywhere in
the world"; these included the freedom of speech and religion, as well as freedom from want and fear.
Roosevelt helped establish terms for a post-war world among potential allies at theAtlantic Conference;
specific pointswere included to correct earlier failures, which became a step toward theUnited Nations.
American policy was to threaten Japan, to force it out of China, and to prevent its attacking the Soviet
Union. However, Japan reacted by an attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and the United States
was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Instead of the loans given to allies in World War I, the United States provided Lend-Lease grants of
$50,000,000,000. Working closely withWinston Churchillof Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet
Union, Roosevelt sent his forces into the Pacific against Japan, then into North Africa against Italy and
Germany, and finally into Europe starting with France and Italy in 1944 against the Germans.
The American economy roared forward, doubling industrial production, and building vast quantities of
airplanes, ships, tanks, munitions, and, finally, the atomic bomb. Much of the American war effort went
to strategic bombers, which flattened the cities of Japan and Germany.
Historical Overview
Cold war
After the war, the U.S. rose to become the dominant non-colonial economic power
with broad influence in much of the world, with the key policies of the
Marshall Planand theTruman Doctrine.
Almost immediately however, the world witnessed division into broad two camps
during theCold War; one side was led by the U.S., and the other by the Soviet
Union, but this situation also led to the establishment of the
Non-Aligned Movement. This period lasted until almost the end of the 20th
century, and is thought to be both an ideological and power struggle between the
two superpowers.
A policy ofcontainmentwas adopted to limit Soviet expansion, and a series of
proxy wars were fought with mixed results. In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved
into separate nations, and the Cold War formally ended as the United States gave
separate diplomatic recognition to the Russian Federation and other former Soviet
states. With these changes to forty-five years of established diplomacy and
military confrontation, new challenges confronted U.S. policymakers. American
foreign policy is characterized by the protection of its national interests.
Convert Actions

United States foreign policy also includes covert actions to topple

foreign governments that have been opposed to the United States. In
1953 the CIA, working with the British government, initiated
Operation Ajaxagainst the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran
Mohammad Mossadeghwho had attempted tonationalizeIran's oil,
threatening the interests of theAnglo-Persian Oil Company.
Convert Actions

1954 inOperation PBSUCCESS, the United States government and the

CIA toppled the democratically elected left-wing government ofJacobo
rbenzinGuatemalaand installed the military dictatorCarlos Castillo
Armas. TheUnited Fruit Companylobbied for rbenz overthrow as his
land reformsjeopardized their land holdings in Guatemala, and painted
these reforms as a communist threat. The coup triggered a decades
longcivil warwhich claimed the lives of 200,000 people During the
massacre of alleged communists
Convert Actions

In 1960s Indonesia, the U.S. government provided assistance to the

Indonesian military that helped facilitate the mass killings
This included the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta supplying Indonesian forces
with lists of up to 5,000 names of suspected members of the
Communist Party of Indonesia(PKI), who were subsequently killed in the
massacresIn 2001, the CIA attempted to prevent the publication of the
State Department volumeForeign Relations of the United States, 1964-
1968, which documents theU.S. rolein providing covert assistance to
the Indonesian military for the express purpose of the extirpation of the
PKI
Convert Actions

In 1970, theCIA worked with coup-plottersin Chile in the attempted

kidnapping of GeneralRen Schneider, who was targeted for refusing to
participate in a military coup upon the election ofSalvador Allende.
Schneider was shot in the botched attempt and died three days later.
The CIA later paid the group $35,000 for the failed kidnapping
American Foreign Policy Concerns

As the greatest military and economic power in the world, the United
States has taken an active role in international politics. The United
States values security and stability, both at home and abroad, above all
else, and focuses on a number of areas to achieve those ends:
Terrorism
Nuclear proliferation
Free trade
Humanitarianism
Environmental issues
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Terrorism
A number of foreign and domestic terrorists have launched attacks against
American interests since the early 1980s. In 1982, a suicide bomber killed 241
American military personnel in Lebanon. A group of Islamic fundamentalists
attempted to destroy the World Trade Center in 1993, and al Qaeda attacked
American embassies in Africa in 1998. Al Qaedas devastating, coordinated
attacks on September 11, 2001, prompted officials in Washington to make
combating terrorism the central focus of American foreign policy.
September 11th
Using passenger planes as weapons, nineteen terrorists damaged the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C., and destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center
complex in New York City, killing nearly 3,000 people in the process. The
terrorist network al Qaeda carefully planned the attack to protest American
foreign policy in the Middle East.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Terrorism
The War on Terror
Following the attack, President George W. Bush rallied the nation to fight
back against the terrorists responsible. The United States successfully
led a coalition force in an invasion of Afghanistan, where the governing
Taliban regime had sheltered and aided the core leadership of al Qaeda,
including Saudi exile Osama bin Ladin. Bush also created the
Department of Homeland Security to coordinate efforts at home to
prevent future terrorist attacks.
.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Terrorism
Bushs War on Terror broadened the scope of the American response
from fighting al Qaeda and other groups intent on attacking the United
States to fighting all terrorists around the world. Since 2002, the United
States has funded many wars on terror being fought by other
governments in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The United
States has even sent military consultants to other countries. As a result
of these wars, a few terrorists groups, including the Irish Republican
Army, have voluntarily renounced violence
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Terrorism
The Bush Doctrine
In 2002, President Bush argued that the United States has the right to
eliminate its enemies before they attack American interests, a policy
now known as the Bush Doctrine. Although previous presidents had
always believed that the United States could defend itself by striking its
enemies first, Bush was the first president to put that policy into effect
when he authorized the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to prevent dictator
Saddam Hussein from using weapons of mass destruction against the
United States and its allies. Numerous critics, however, have challenged
the Bush Doctrine, claiming that this largely unilateral policy has
damaged American integrity abroad. Other critics have contended that
the Bush Doctrine has undermined Americas ability to criticize other
aggressive states
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Nuclear Proliferation

Nuclear Proliferation
The United States has worked hard to prevent other countries from
acquiring and developing nuclear weapons. The United States worries
that rogue states might use nuclear technology irresponsibly to attack
their enemies without thinking of the global repercussions.
In 1968, theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treatytried to stop the
spread of nuclear weapons. At the time, only five states had nuclear
weapons: the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and
China, all of which had a permanent seat on the United Nations Security
Council. Nearly every country in the world signed the treaty, thereby
agreeing not to seek or spread nuclear weapons
American Foreign Policy Concerns

Free Trade
Since the end of World War II, the United States has led the way in
creating a number of international institutions that govern international
trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the largest and most
powerful of these institutions. It seeks to promote free trade among
member nations by reducing or eliminating domestic subsidies and
protective tariffs. WTO members must agree to abide by the
organizations trade regulations, and almost all the worlds countries are
represented in the membership.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Free trade
Free Trade:
The governing body of the WTO has the authority to punish any member
state that violates these rules. Many American laborers believe that
such organizations hurt American industry and lead to outsourcing,
transferring jobs formerly available to American workers to workers in
other countries. Proponents of free tradeincluding the American
governmenthowever, argue that the benefits of free trade far
outweigh the costs because free trade lowers the price of consumer
goods and allows Americans to purchase more with their money.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism
The United States has always been one of the major proponents of
international human rights and has criticized many developing countries
around the world for abusing those rights.
President Jimmy Carter even made humanitarianism a major tenant of
his foreign policy in the late 1970s. Since the end of World War II, the
United States has also been the largest donor of international aid
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Humanitarianism
At the same time, the United States still lacks a codified
humanitarianism foreign policy, responding to some global humanitarian
crises (Somalia in 1992) but not others (Rwanda in 1996, Darfur in
2004).
In fact, both conservative and liberal presidents and senators have
refused to sign most international human rights treaties out of fear that
Americans may be stripped of their rights as U.S. citizens when tried in
international courts for crimes against humanity. This refusal has
prompted much international criticism, especially in the wake of gross
human rights violations, most notably at the American-controlled Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003 and at the American military detention
center at Guantnamo Bay, Cuba.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Humanitarianism
Americans and foreign policymakers alike are divided on
whether the United States should make humanitarianism
a more formal component of its foreign policy. Proponents
argue that the United States should promote human rights
as the so-called leader of the free world and as the
country with the most resources to help others. Others,
however, argue that promoting human rights and sending
troops on humanitarian missions achieves nothing
tangible for the United States and could lead to wasteful
uses of resources and the needless loss of American lives
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues
Environmentalism has taken center stage in foreign policy as well. Many
people around the world have realized that some environmental issues
require transnational solutions, so they urge their political leaders to
reach agreements over a variety of environmental matters. The most
ambitious such agreement is the Kyoto Protocol,a 1997 treaty signed
to curb global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A number of states, however, including China and the United States,
refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, claiming that it had been formulated
on faulty science. It remains to be seen whether the treaty can be
effective without American participation.
American Foreign Policy Concerns
Humanitarianism
Despite the fact that the president and
the Senate have refused to sign the Kyoto
Protocol, a number of state and local
jurisdictions have adopted many of the
treatys requirements. Similarly, a number
of corporations have voluntarily complied
with some of the protocols standards
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
The United States uses a variety of tactics to achieve the security and
stability it seeks at home and abroad.
Sometimes Washington acts as mediator to resolve disputes, such as
when Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton worked to restore peace
between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Other times, the United States relies on trade because many
policymakers believe that high levels of trade reduce the likelihood of
militarized conflict.
Finally, the United States has assumed the role of world policeman a
number of times, sending troops on humanitarian missions or to punish
rogue states that do not adhere to international codes of conduct
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
The Middle East
Much of American foreign policy in the last three decades has centered
around the Middle East, the swath of territory on the eastern
Mediterranean where Europe, Asia, and Africa intersect. The region is
also the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What happens in
the Middle East is vital to American interests. The Middle East is rich in
oil, which drives the American economy; without oil, none of Americas
cars, planes, trains, ships, or industrial machinery would work.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Israel/Palestine
The key to stabilizing the Middle East lies in the resolution of the conflict
between Israel and the Palestinians, an ethnic group currently under
Israeli rule that seeks to carve out territory to establish its own country.
Many neighboring Arab countries have declared their support for the
Palestinians, and several have used the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to
declare wars and holy wars against Israel. Some presidents, such as
Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, have used their influence to help resolve
these disputes peacefully. Other presidents peace plans have been less
successful. Many believe that peace will be harder to achieve in the
wake of Israels failure to destroy the Islamist group Hamas in 2006.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Iraq
Iraq has been at the center of American foreign policy since the Gulf War
of the early 1990s, when the United States and its Allies liberated the
oil-rich nation of Kuwait from its Iraqi occupiers. Rather than oust Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein from power, the United States merely removed
Iraqi forces from Kuwait and forced Hussein to end all his nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons programs. In 2003, President George
W. Bush believed he had proof that these programs were still operational
and therefore ordered the military to invade Iraq, remove Hussein from
power, and establish a pro-American democratic government.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Iraq
Poor management of the war, a shortage of troops, accusations of
corruption, human rights violations, rampant sectarian and anti-
American violence, and the lack of any weapons of mass destruction
have all turned Iraq into a quagmire. Some Americans and foreign
policymakers argue that the United States should pull out of Iraq
immediately, whereas others say that the United States must remain
and stabilize the country in order to keep Iraq from becoming a safe
haven for terrorists.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Iran
The United States has had a rocky relationship with Iran since the late
twentieth century. The United States and Britain, for example,
orchestrated a coup against a democratically elected government to
reinstall the pro-Western Muhammad Reza Pahlavi as the shah, or ruler,
of Iran after hed been deposed. The coup outraged Iranians and fueled
suspicion of the West. In 1979, the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini
overthrew the shah and then attacked the American embassy and held
more than sixty Americans hostage for 444 days. The United States
supplied Iraq with weapons and equipment in its war against Iran
throughout the 1980s, driving the two countries even further apart.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Iran
In recent years, Iran has been trying to acquire nuclear technology,
ostensibly to build nuclear power plants. The United States and the
European Union, however, believe that Iran is trying to construct a
nuclear weapon for protection against Western encroachment or for
possible use against Israel. Iran is, therefore, at the center of American
efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons, especially in light of the
recent failure of the United States to prevent North Korea from
developing nuclear weapons.
5+1 Agreements & the Gulf Worries
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Europe
For all of the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century, Europe lay
at the heart of American foreign policy. For the most part, the United
States remained nominally neutral, hoping to trade with the great
European powers and avoid becoming involved in their costly wars.
World Wars I and II transformed the United States into a major military
and economic superpower and prompted Washington to assume a
leadership role in the postwar world.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Europe
The United States and its Western European allies waged much of the Cold
War in Europe as well, carving the continent into spheres of influence.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990 and the formation of the
European Union in 1992, Europe has become one of the most politically
and economically stable regions in the world.
USA & Eastern European Countries post cold war
Kosovo
Dayton Agreement
Introducing political, economic & Social reforms
NATO Membership
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Russia
A handful of foreign policy analysts argue that Russia remains a threat to
American interests in Europe in spite of the collapse of the Soviet Union and
the end of the Cold War.
Even though Russia is no longer communist, Russian president Vladimir
Putin has consolidated so much power in the early twenty-first century that
many people have questioned whether the country is a democracy anymore.
The NATO alliance remains in effect too, which has kept Moscow on its guard,
and relations between the United States and Russia have chilled somewhat
after several diplomatic spats. It remains to be seen what role Russia will
play in Europe in the coming decades.
Syria, ISIS
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
frica
Africa has always been a relatively low priority for American foreign
policymakers, simply because Africa has few tangible resources to offer
the United States. American involvement in Africa has usually revolved
around peacekeeping, either independently or as part of a larger United
Nations force. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have taken
some steps to improve American foreign policy in Africa, particularly
because Africa contains a significant Muslim population. Bush has also
pledged millions of dollars to help fight the AIDS pandemic, which has
ravaged much of the continent.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Asia

The United States trades heavily across

the Pacific with a wide variety of
partners and actively seeks to tap into
the large markets of Asia, especially in
China and India. The United States also
takes an active interest in security
matters in Asia
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
China
Despite high levels of trade in the past decade, the United Statess
relationship with China has soured considerably since the end of the
Cold War. Beginning in the 1970s, China and the United States worked
together to check the power of their mutual enemy, the Soviet Union.
With the Moscow threat gone, however, neither country needs the other
as it once did. China has sought more political authority in East Asia as it
grows more powerful. The two countries butted heads on a number of
occasions in recent years. Foreign policy analysts in both countries see
the other country as their primary military threat, although tensions
have died down considerably since China pledged its support for the
American War on Terror in the aftermath of September 11th.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Afghanistan
Shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, President George W.
Bush issued an ultimatum to the ruling Islamist Taliban regime to hand
over Osama bin Ladin and others in the al Qaeda leadership. When the
Taliban refused, the United States and a coalition of allies invaded the
country, ousting the Taliban, routing terrorists, and establishing a pro-
Western government. Osama bin Ladin has eluded capture, but the
American military continues to hunt al Qaeda cells.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
North Korea
The United States is also concerned with communist North Korea,
particularly ever since dictator Kim Jong Il declared that he had
successfully developed and tested nuclear weapons in 2006. For many
years after the end of the Korean War in 1953, North Korea threatened
to destroy neighboring Japan and forcefully reunify North and South
Korea. Almost all of the nations scant resources go to feeding and
maintaining the North Korean army, which is one of the largest in the
world, with more than a million soldiers
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Latin America
In 1823, President James Monroe issued theMonroe Doctrine,declaring
that the European powers should not involve themselves in the Western
Hemisphere. President Theodore Roosevelt amended this policy around
the turn of the twentieth century with the Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine, which states that only the United States could
interfere in Latin America. These two doctrines have dominated
American foreign policy regarding Latin America ever since. In recent
decades, the United States has been most concerned with immigration,
trade, drugs, and the spread of socialism.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Immigration
Immigration issues dominate American relations with many Latin
American countries, particularly those in Central America. In recent
decades, the majority of American immigrants have come from Mexico,
Cuba, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala, among
other countries. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people cross the
border to work in the United States or permanently move to start new
lives. The vast majority of these people come legally, but the increasing
number of illegal immigrants has become a growing concern for ordinary
Americans and U.S. politicians.
American Foreign Policy & Regional
Issues
Immigration
The issue of immigration has deeply divided Americans; some argue
that illegal immigrants drain resources from the state governments,
whereas others believe that all immigrants regardless of their legal
status drive the economy. Bowing to political pressure, however,
Congress passed the Sensenbrenner Bill in 2006 to erect a 700-mile-long
fence along the Mexican border to help curb illegal immigration
Historical Overview
21st century
21st century In the 21st century, U.S. influence remains strong but, in
relative terms, is declining in terms of
economic output compared to rising nations such as China, India, Russia,
Brazil, and the newly consolidatedEuropean Union.
Substantial problems remain, such asclimate change,nuclear proliferation,
and the specter ofnuclear terrorism.
Foreign policy analysts Hachigian and Sutphen in their bookThe Next
American Centurysuggest all six powers have similar vested interests in
stability and terrorism prevention and trade; if they can find common ground,
then the next decades may be marked by peaceful growth and prosperity.
Mutual Defense Agreements

The United States is a founding member ofNATO, an alliance of 28 North American and European
nations formed to defend Western Europe against the Soviet Union during theCold War. Under
the NATO charter, the United States is compelled to defend any NATO state that is attacked by a
foreign power. The United States itself was the first country to invoke the mutual defense
provisions of the alliance, in response to theSeptember 11 attacks.
The United States also has mutual military defense treaties with
Australia and New Zealand
Japan
South Korea
Philippines
Thailand, with other states formerly in theSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization
Most countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, through the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
The United States has responsibility for the defense of the threeCompact of Free Associationstates:
Federated States of Micronesia, theMarshall Islands, andPalau.
Unilateral vs. Multilateral Military Actions

The United States has undertaken unilateral and multilateral military operations throughout its
history
In the post-World War II era, the country has had permanent membership and veto power in the
United Nations Security Council , allowing it to undertake any military action without formal
Security Council opposition.
With vast military expenditures, the United States is known as the sole remainingsuperpower
after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The U.S. contributes a relatively small number of
personnel forUnited Nations peacekeeping operations. It sometimes acts though NATO, as with
theNATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina ,NATO bombing of Yugoslavia , and
ISAF in Afghanistan , but often acts unilaterally or in ad-hoc coalitions as with the
2003 invasion of Iraq.
TheUnited Nations Charter requires that military operations be either for self-defense or
affirmatively approved by the Security Council. Though many of their operations have followed
these rules, the United States and NATO have been accused of committing
crimes against peace in international law, for example in the 1999 Yugoslavia and 2003 Iraq
operations.
Promoting Democracy

InUnited Stateshistory, critics have charged thatpresidentshave used

democracyto justifymilitary interventionabroad.
Critics have also charged that the U.S. helped local militaries
overthrow democratically elected governmentsinIran, Guatemala, and in
other instances. Studies have been devoted to the historical success rate of
the U.S. in exporting democracy abroad.
Some studies of American intervention have been pessimistic about the
overall effectiveness of U.S. efforts to encourage democracy in foreign
nations.
Promoting Democracy

Opinion that U.S. intervention does not export democracy

Professor Paul W. Drake argued that the U.S. first attempted to exportdemocracy
inLatin Americathrough intervention from 1912 to 1932. Drake argued that this
was contradictory because international law definesinterventionas "dictatorial
interference in the affairs of another state for the purpose of altering the
condition of things." The study suggested that efforts to promote democracy
failed because democracy needs to develop out of internal conditions, and can
not be forcibly imposed. There was disagreement about what constituted
democracy;
Drake suggested American leaders sometimes defined democracy in a narrow
sense of a nation having elections; Drake suggested a broader understanding
was needed. Further, there was disagreement about what constituted a
"rebellion"; Drake saw a pattern in which theU.S. State Departmentdisapproved
of any type of rebellion, even so-called "revolutions", and in some instances
rebellions against dictatorships. HistorianWalter LaFeberstated, "The world's
leading revolutionary nation (the U.S.) in the eighteenth century became the
leading protector of the status quo in the twentieth century." [
Promoting Democracy

Mesquitaand Downs evaluated 35 U.S. interventions from 1945 to 2004

and concluded that in only one case,Colombia, did a "full fledged,
stable democracy" develop within ten years following the intervention.
[67]Samia Amin Pei argued that nation building in developed countries

usually unravelled four to six years after American intervention ended.

Pei, based on study of a database on worldwide democracies called
Polity, agreed with Mesquita and Downs that U.S. intervention efforts
usually don't produce real democracies, and that most cases result in
greater authoritarianism after ten years.[68]
Promoting Democracy

ProfessorJoshua Muravchikargued U.S. occupation was critical for

Axis powerdemocratization afterWorld War II, but America's failure to
encourage democracy in thethird world"prove... that U.S. military
occupation is not a sufficient condition to make a country democratic."
[69][70]
The success of democracy in former Axis countries such asItaly
were seen as a result of high national per-capita income, although U.S.
protection was seen as a key to stabilization and important for
encouraging the transition to democracy. Steven Krasner agreed that
there was a link between wealth and democracy; when per-capita
incomes of $6,000 were achieved in a democracy, there was little
chance of that country ever reverting to anautocracy, according to an
analysis of his research in theLos Angeles Times
Promoting Democracy
Another opinion
Tures examined 228 cases of American intervention from 1973 to 2005,
usingFreedom Housedata. A plurality of interventions, 96, caused no
change in the country's democracy. In 69 instances, the country became
less democratic after the intervention. In the remaining 63 cases, a
country became more democraticHowever this does not take into
account the direction the country would have gone with no U.S.
intervention
Promoting Democracy
Another opinion
Hermann and Kegley found that American military interventions designed
to protect or promote democracy increased freedom in those countries. [
Peceny argued that the democracies created after military intervention are
still closer to anautocracy than ademocracy, quoting Przeworski "while
some democracies are more democratic than others, unless offices are
contested, no regime should be considered democraticTherefore, Peceny
concludes, it is difficult to know from the Hermann and Kegley study
whether U.S. intervention has only produced less repressive autocratic
governments or genuine democraciesPeceny stated that the United States
attempted to export democracy in 33 of its 93 20th-century military
interventions.
Peceny argued that proliberal policies after military intervention had a
positive impact on democracy
Human Rights

Since the 1970s, issues of human rights have become increasingly important in
American foreign policy
Congress took the lead in the 1970sFollowing theVietnam War, the feeling that
U.S. foreign policy had grown apart from traditional American values was seized
upon bySenator Donald M. Fraser (D, MI) , leading the Subcommittee on
International Organizations and Movements, in criticizing Republican Foreign Policy
underthe Nixon administration.
In the early 1970s, Congress concluded the Vietnam War and passed the
War Powers Act. As "part of a growing assertiveness by Congress about many
aspects of Foreign Policy,"[
Human Rights concerns became a battleground between the Legislative and the
Executive branches in the formulation of foreign policy. David Forsythe points to
three specific, early examples of Congress interjecting its own thoughts on foreign
policy:
Human Rights

Subsection (a) of the International Financial Assistance Act of

1977: ensured assistance through international financial institutions would
be limited to countries "other than those whose governments engage in a
consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human
rights
Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended in
1984: reads in part, "No assistance may be provided under this part to the
government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights." [
Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended in
1978: "No security assistance may be provided to any country the
government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights
Human Rights

These measures were repeatedly used by Congress, with varying success, to

affect U.S. foreign policy towards the inclusion of Human Rights concerns.
Specific examples includeEl Salvador,Nicaragua,Guatemalaand
South Africa. The Executive (from Nixon to Reagan) argued that theCold War
required placing regional security in favor of U.S. interests over any
behavioral concerns of national allies. Congress argued the opposite, in favor
of distancing the United States from oppressive regimes.
Nevertheless, according to historianDaniel Goldhagen, during the last two
decades of the Cold War, the number of American client states practicing
mass murder outnumbered those of theSoviet Union.John Henry Coatsworth,
a historian of Latin America and the provost of Columbia University, suggests
the number of repression victims in Latin America alone far surpassed that of
the USSR and its East European satellites during the period 1960 to 1990. [
Human Rights

On December 6, 2011, Obama instructed agencies to consider

LGBT rightswhen issuing financial aid to foreign countries. also criticized
Russia's law discriminating against gays,joining other western leaders in
theboycottof the2014 Winter Olympicsin Russia
In June 2014, a Chilean court ruled that the United States played a key
role in the murders ofCharles HormanandFrank Teruggi, both American
citizens, shortly after the1973 Chilean coup d'tat.[
War on Drugs

United States foreign policy is influenced by the efforts of the U.S.

government to control imports of illicitdrugs, includingcocaine,heroin,
methamphetamine, andcannabis. This is especially true in Latin
America, a focus for the U.S.War on Drugs. Those efforts date back to at
least 1880, when the U.S. and China completed an agreement that
prohibitedthe shipment of opiumbetween the two countries.
War on Drugs

Over a century later, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act requires the
President to identify the major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing
countries. In September 2005the following countries were identified:Bahamas
,Bolivia,Brazil,Burma,Colombia,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,Guatemala,
Haiti, India,Jamaica,Laos, Mexico,Nigeria, Pakistan,Panama,Paraguay,Peru
andVenezuela. Two of these, Burma and Venezuela are countries that the U.S.
considers to have failed to adhere to their obligations under international
counternarcotics agreements during the previous 12 months.
Notably absent from the 2005 list wereAfghanistan, thePeople's Republic of China
andVietnam; Canada was also omitted in spite of evidence that criminal groups
there are increasingly involved in the production ofMDMAdestined for the United
States and that large-scale cross-border trafficking of Canadian-grown cannabis
continues. The U.S. believes that the Netherlands are successfully countering the
production and flow of MDMA to the U.S
Criticism

Critics from the left cite episodes that undercut leftist governments or
showed support for Israel.
Others cite human rights abuses and violations of international law.
Critics have charged that theU.S. presidentshave used
democracyto justifymilitary interventionabroad
It was also noted thatthe U.S. overthrew democratically elected
governmentsinIran,Guatemala,
Critics also point to declassified records which indicate that the CIA under
Allen Dullesand the FBI underJ. Edgar Hooveraggressively recruited more
than 1,000 Nazis, including those responsible for war crimes, to use as
spies and informants against theSoviet Unionin the Cold War
criticism

The U.S. has faced criticism forbacking right-wing dictators that systematically violated human
rights, such asAugusto Pinochet of Chile,[108]Alfredo Stroessnerof Paraguay,[109]Efran Ros Monttof
Guatemala,[110]Jorge Rafael Videlaof Argentina,[111]Hissne Habrof Chad[112][113]andSuhartoof
Indonesia.[82][86]Critics have also accused the United States of supportingOperationCondor, an
international campaign of political assassination and state terror organized by right-wing military
dictatorships in theSouthern Cone of South America.[109][114][115]
Journalists and human rights organizations have been critical of US-led airstrikes andtargeted killings
bydroneswhich have in some cases resulted incollateral damage of civilian populations.[116][117]
Studies have been devoted to the historical success rate of the U.S. in exporting democracy abroad.
Some studies of American intervention have been pessimistic about the overall effectiveness of U.S.
efforts to encourage democracy in foreign nations. [61]Some scholars have generally agreed with
international relations professor Abraham Lowenthal that U.S. attempts to export democracy have
been "negligible, often counterproductive, and only occasionally positive." [62][63]Other studies findU.S
. intervention has had mixed results,[61]and another by Hermann and Kegley has found that military
interventions have improved democracy in other countries. [64]A 2013 global poll in 68 countries with
66,000 respondents by Win/Gallup found that the U.S. is perceived as the biggest threat to world
peace
Criticism

Criticism post Arab Spring