SA

MOD 4: GOV 312L: US Foreign Policy - Grand Strategy II Notes

Grand Strategy Overview

  • Grand Strategy II focuses on three key approaches: Selective Engagement, Liberal Internationalism, and Primacy.

  • This discussion will cover:

    • Definition and historical examples of Liberal Internationalism.

    • Definition of Primacy and its elements in the George W. Bush administration's grand strategy.

    • Defining the grand strategy of the Trump Administration.

    • Defining the grand strategy of the Biden Administration.

Liberal Internationalism (LI)

  • Core Idea: Establishing a liberal international order.

  • Methodology: Utilizes both military power and international institutions to achieve this order.

  • Underlying Logic:

    • Global Threats: American threats abroad are perceived as global in scope.

    • Collective Security: Security is best achieved collectively through multilateral organizations and alliances.

    • Western Values: Security is optimized in a world founded on Western values, including free markets, democratic regimes, and the protection of human rights.

    • American Intervention: American intervention, both military and economic, is applied to establish an American-led liberal international order.

  • Critique: Liberal Internationalism can be seen as overly expansive and may be perceived as a form of imperialism.

  • Ideological Foundation: Both Democrats and Republicans in the US embrace a classical liberalism emphasizing individual liberty and relatively free markets.

Woodrow Wilson and Liberal Internationalism

  • Key Champions/Elements:

    • Collective Security: Advocated for a collective security system through the League of Nations.

    • National Self-Determination: Promoted the idea of national self-determination, which was inherently anti-imperialist.

    • Democracy: Championed the spread of democratic governance.

    • Free Trade: Supported open markets and free trade.

    • Open Navigation: Advocated for open navigation of the sea, facilitating trade and challenging British naval hegemony.

  • Challenges/Problems:

    • Enforcement: Difficulty in establishing effective mechanisms to enforce the collective security system.

    • Domestic Support: Failed to secure necessary domestic support from Congress, leading to the US not joining the League of Nations.

Ikenberry, “The Next Liberal Order”
Part I: Understanding the Liberal International Order

  • Author's Focus: John Ikenberry discusses the current crisis of liberal internationalism and proposes how the US can maintain the liberal international order and its leadership role.

  • Definition: The liberal international order is understood as a project aiming to construct an international system that is open, multilateral, and based on Western values of the rule of law, human rights, and liberal democracy.

  • Post-WWII Context: Since World War II, this project has been spearheaded by the United States and has relied on a coalition of liberal democracies.

Part II: Problems Facing the Liberal Order

  • Collapse of Post-WWII Order: The existing liberal order built after World War II is collapsing for several reasons:

    • Decline of US Patronage: Leading patrons, particularly the US under Donald Trump, have shown a withdrawal from liberal internationalism.

    • Rise of Great Power Competition: The relative decline of US hegemony and the rise of China have ushered in an era of great power competition, which has undermined global institutions.

    • Unfulfilled Promises: Liberal internationalism has not consistently delivered on its promises, especially regarding globalization, which has failed to adequately accommodate those left behind by free trade.

Part III: Ikenberry's Solutions to Save the Liberal Order

  • Acknowledge Successes: Appreciate the achievements of the liberal order and recognize that alternative international systems would likely be far worse.

  • Address Shortcomings: Acknowledge the failures of the liberal order, especially the unequal impacts of globalization, and grant states more flexibility to assist those negatively affected.

  • Return to Original Aim: Reorient towards the original goals of the post-WWII order envisioned by Franklin Roosevelt.

  • Collective Security & Values: Create an environment conducive to collective security and the protection of liberal values.

  • Strengthen Alliances: Renew and strengthen the alliance among liberal democracies.

Primacy

  • Core Goal: To use unilateral means to establish American hegemony over all potential rivals.

  • Underlying Logic:

    • Global Interests: American interests abroad are global and expansive.

    • Unilateral Security: Security is achieved primarily through preponderant American power, often without significant reliance on international partners.

    • Military Power: Heavy reliance on military power as the primary instrument of foreign policy.

  • Critique: Primacy carries the risk of leading to overreach and international isolation.

Primacy and the Bush (43) Administration

  • Willingness to Use Force: Demonstrated a clear willingness to employ military force to advance foreign policy goals, notably in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • Skepticism of Institutions: Exhibited skepticism towards international institutions, exemplified by figures like John Bolton.

  • Democracy Promotion: A key element was actively promoting democracy globally.

    • President Bush's 2007 State of the Union address emphasized that the war was an ideological struggle, linking national security to removing conditions that inspire hatred by promoting human freedom. He stated that terrorists fear human freedom, and thus, advancing US security interests involves helping moderates, reformers, and advocates for democracy.

  • Military Dominance: Aimed to preserve military dominance over peer competitors, leading to a dramatic post- ext{9/11} military buildup.

  • Impact of ext{9/11} : The shock of the ext{9/11} attacks was a critical factor in shifting the administration's grand strategy; prior to ext{9/11} , candidate Bush had advocated for a more offshore balancer approach.

Grand Strategy of the Trump Administration

  • "America First": Central tenet guiding the administration's foreign policy.

  • Centrality of Economic Interests: Economic concerns were paramount.

  • Neomercantilism:

    • Domestic Industry: Emphasis on the importance of domestic industry.

    • Protectionism: Advocated for protectionist trade policies.

    • Border Restrictions: Implemented strict border controls.

    • "Better Deal": Sought to redistribute wealth from the global system back to the United States.

  • Trump National Security Strategy (Dec. ext{2017} ): Outlined four broad, purportedly noncontroversial goals:

    • Protect the homeland.

    • Promote American prosperity.

    • Preserve peace by rebuilding the military.

    • Advance American influence abroad.

    • All four goals were framed within the defense of national sovereignty.

  • Restoring American Sovereignty:

    • State-Centric View: Adopted a state-centric view of international relations.

    • Skepticism of Multilateralism: Deep skepticism towards multilateral international organizations and agreements, leading to withdrawal or criticism of:

      • Paris Climate Accords

      • NATO

      • Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

      • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

      • Iranian nuclear accord

    • Skepticism of Globalization: Expressed deep skepticism about the benefits of globalization.

    • Immigration/Border Control: Immigration restrictions and border control measures were placed within the broader narrative of reasserting sovereignty and resisting globalization.

  • Strategic Retrenchment:

    • Resist New Deployments: Resistance to new troop deployments abroad.

    • Critique of Nation-Building: Criticism of prior nation-building attempts.

    • Military Spending Increases: Substantial increases to military spending.

  • Main Principles of Trump Grand Strategy:

    • Neomercantilism and "America First"

    • Restoring American sovereignty

    • Strategic retrenchment

  • Placement in Post-Cold War Debate: Does not align with Liberal Internationalism (due to resistance to globalization, IOs, and individual liberty ideals) or Primacy (due to lack of militarism or muscular democracy promotion). This leaves a combination of Isolationism and Restraint.

Grand Strategy of the Biden Administration

  • President Biden as a Liberal Internationalist:

    • Global Threats/Interests: Assumes that global threats necessitate US global interests.

    • Great Power Competition: Recognizes the reemergence of great power competition.

    • Multilateralism: Emphasizes restoring multilateralism.

    • Coalition of Democracies: Aims to lead a coalition of democracies.

  • Reemergence of Great Power Competition:

    • Focus on China: Shifts US foreign policy to concentrate on the rise of China.

    • Confronting Russia: Leads the coalition confronting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

  • Restoring Multilateralism:

    • Rejoined the Paris Climate Accords.

    • Rejoined the World Health Organization (WHO).

    • Reenergized NATO.

  • Leading a Coalition of Democracies:

    • Democracy vs. Autocracy: Frames the world as a fundamental competition between democracy and autocracy.

    • Organized the Summit for Democracy.