GOV 312L 1st EditionLecture 3Outline of Current LectureI. TMFPQII. Key Elements of Liberal InternationalismIII. Historical Examples of LIIV. Debate: President Obama and LIV. Key Elements of PrimacyVI. Historical examples of PrimacyVII. Debate: Posen v BrooksVIII. Discussion: Fukuyama and Neo-conservatismCurrent Lecture- TMFPQo Obama delays immigration reform due to mid-termso Obama setting up Wednesday- Liberal nationalismo Use of military power and international institutions in order to pursue a liberal international order American threats abroad are global Security is best achieved in a world based on Western values Critique is that LI can be too expensive and perceived as imperialism- The Allies that fought with America weren’t fans of Woodrow Wilson- After 1916, people were looking for Wilson’s speeches and shaped their views oncollective action to resist imperial rule- Wilson’s 14 points speecho For open navigation over seas; easier international tradeo Pro-democracyo First problem: envisioned his dream as evolutionary that would take time to take place. It was hard to organize cooperation among the league when countries like Germany and Italy violated the terms of the league.o Wilson couldn’t get congressional approval for the league which basically killed it before it could get off the ground- Obama=liberal internationalisto Lots of willingness for international cooperationo Still supportive of democracy promotiono He doesn’t want to hold out a sustainable democracy as a goal so US can decide when to pull back troopso He’s willing to use military force and power to achieve goalso Bush implemented primacy, of which Obama has pulled back from by withdrawing troops from Iraq, etc.o Book (Posen) disagrees with this viewpoint^ and thinks Obama is very similar to Bush esp in terms of the grand strategyo Rob’s view: Obama is too much of a realist; often reluctant to commit US troops for moral humanitarian causes (such as in Syria). Obama emphasizes that other countries need to make a more political system and have a government to solve their problems. “Obama won’t help Iraq fight Isis until Iraq gets their act together”- Primacy is a grand strategy focused on establishing and maintaining American hygenimy in the worldo Sees threats as global and expansiveo Very suspicious of international organizations; prefers US to act unilaterally and act aloneo US should have Preponderant military and economic powero Puts a premium on military power rather than economic soft powero Primacy can have a strong emphasis on values like democracy promotion for increase of power o Primacy is about dominating political and military o Neo-conservatism variant of primacy=Grand Strategyo Fukiyamo-prominent neo-conservative individual His article provoked backlashes from people who didn’t agree Neo-conservatists believe its Very difficult for government to engineer society for better social outcomeso Neo conservatists are big supporters of Ronald Raegan; upset with Nixono After 1991, neo-cons embraced vision of primacy because they see huge opportunity of US to remake the world Neo-cons in defense department during 9/11o President’s since the Cold War have tried for international ordero Posen calls for restrained foreign policy and restrained selective engagement because of problems with American hygonemic policy Uses relationships between China and Russia as a prime example that activist American foreign policy has pushed together Caused our allies to shirk their responsibilities; other countries don’t spend as much on their self defense because they know US will bail them outo Posen’s solution Focus on proliferation of nuclear weapons Reduce alliance commitments Not get engaged in the kinds of wars like 9/11-its costly, doesn’t work, and backfires- Instead we should fight terrorism but not by invading othercountries If you shrink the on forces you can shrink foreign policyo Those who oppose Posen US spends too small amount of their GDP on military US is geographically isolated-not threatening (skepticism) Don’t worry about fighting unnecessary small wars because of alliance commitmentso Benefits of Posen’s strategy We can keep peace Military dominance helps to make us wealthier; US gets more leverage with negotiations with other countries (over valued dollar); other countries relies on US goodso Recalibration-o Retrenchment-offshore balancing with a little bit of
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