U.S. Foreign Policy: Time to Plant Olive Trees in China’s Backyard
Created by Addelyn Rubino
I. Introduction: The United States of America’s Global Leadership Role
Shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it became unquestionably clear that the United States of America had eluded the lion’s share of World War 2’s unprecedented damage, and emerged a superpower. In light of the rapid technological and economic developments America had undergone during and after the post-war period, the country’s borders had transformed themselves into gates which opened into the kingdom of heaven. The nation was not only recognized as the land of abundance and prosperity, but was also given the great responsibility of acting as the world’s sole guardian and protectorate. Uncle Sam even established himself as the de facto policeman of the global community, orchestrating everything from the international flow of wealth, to the political affairs of any one nation.
Within the last half century, the United States has created and defended its economic and political hegemony by promoting the ideals of free market capitalism and constitutionally liberal democracy. These healthy values diffused themselves through American led, international organizations, such as the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the G7,i the Paris Club, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as, the vast array of administrative bodies within the United Nations. As a result, national economies were integrated into a globalized network of interdependence on trade, foreign direct and financial investment, innovation of ideas and technology, as well as, the culture and human capital brought by the immigration of foreign people and firms. These international gatherings also allowed America to lead efforts in regulating globalization so that no nation would be excluded from an equitable slice of the economic pie.
There is no question that the United States of America is still the engine of the world’s economy, exalting the globe into prosperity during a boom, and grounding it during a bust. By wholeheartedly immersing itself into the process of globalization quicker than any other nation, America steadily developed itself into the world’s single largest trading partner (See Graph 1). In fact, the “U.S. economy is for most economies their first trading partner and has remained so for the last 25 years. Even for countries that do not trade so much with the U.S., they are influenced by its dominance through other partners’ trade” [1]. Because America wields such an immense influence within the world’s economy, the global community must logically cede all responsibility and directive control to the discretion of this nation. A practical question to ask is what the United States offers, and will continue to offer by its leadership. Lael Brainard and David Lipton, authors of “Can America Still Lead the Global Economy,” point to two fundamental international economic goals the United States has. The first, foremost, and most obvious objective the U.S. has is to “promote prosperity for all Americans” [2]. Nevertheless, the second is to “stop globalization from transforming into a negative sum game by taking action to prevent economic, financial, climate, and security instability” [3] from wrecking the lives of all residents of the world, regardless of nationality. Before America continues onward with its benevolent mission of global leadership, it must first prevail over a very threatening obstacle which may impede it from accomplishing its goals; this hindrance is the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
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very interesting read, can’t wait for the solution.