AMERİKAN DIŞ POLİTİKASI

In the early 1800s, Latin America was still colonized by the Spanish and the Portuguese empires. The independence of the United States from Great Britain, and subsequent political regime created in the north appealed to the nationalists in Latin America. Between 1810 and 1820, when many Latin American nations declared their independence from Spain, they looked up to the US as a model for basic political institutions. Instead of adopting the Continental model of parliamentary regimes, many Latin American nations opted for the US model of presidential system, with a bicameral Congress and a Supreme Court.

Fighting among the European powers also offered significant advantage to the newly founded United States. The Spanish had lost the Louisiana to the French, but the Napoleonic Wars were costly adventures. In order to finance his ambitions in Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte decided to sell this far away land to the United States for $15 million cash. This price corresponded to around 3 cents for an acre, which is about 4046 square meters. The map of U.S. expansion illustrates the expansive amount of land gained, through Louisiana purchase from the French. This area consists of nearly onethird of the modern day United States.

Monroe Doctrine of 1823 could be classified as the first official foreign policy doctrine of the United States. It was articulated by President James Monroe during the 7th State of the Union address to the Senate and the House. In his long speech, the president carefully makes the case that the U.S. does pay attention to the conflicts in Europe, because they share the same origins, but does not pick sides.

President James Polk (1845-49) ran on a platform of territorial expansion and won. Initially, he tried to convince the Mexicans to sell their massive northern territory, but the Mexican leadership did not agree to a sale. The Mexican American War of 1846 to 1848 eventually cost the Mexicans nearly half of their national territory. They even faced the occupation of their capital, Mexico City, by U.S. troops. Eventually, 10 new states emerged from the territory the U.S. took from Mexico: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Nevada, Kansas, parts of Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who served for two terms from 1901 to 1909, was a strong advocate of US expansionism. He was a naval commander before his presidency. When he got elected to the White House, he made sure the U.S. military presence was felt across the world. Around this period, there were negotiations with Colombia to build a canal that would connect Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, the Colombians were reluctant to grant exclusive privileges to the Americans. President Roosevelt was instrumental in supporting the secessionist elites in Colombia, who eventually led to the formation of a small but independent Panama in 1903. The newly independent Panama immediately signed a treaty with the U.S. for building the Panama Canal, and granted the U.S. exclusive rights for five miles (8 km) on either side of the canal, (the Canal Zone) until 1979. This meant the U.S. had a permanent base in the Canal Zone, and full control of the Canal until 1979. After 1979, the jurisdiction switched to a joint commission. Panama could not reclaim total jurisdiction over the Canal Zone until 1999.

Summary of Wilson’s Fourteen Points

1. Open diplomacy among nations, no secret treaties.
2. Freedom of the seas, except territorial waters
3. Free trade; removal of all trade barriers
4. Disarmament: reducing military build up
5. Anti-colonialism
6. End the invasion of Russia.
7. End the invasion of Belgium.
8. End the Prussian invasion of France.
9. Italy’s national borders must be respected.
10. People of Austria-Hungarian Empire should have “the freest opportunity of autonomous development.”
11. End the invasion of Balkans, respect territorial integrity of Balkan nations.
12. Restore the sovereignty of Turkish portions of the Ottoman Empire, autonomy to others, free passage from Dardanelles.
13. A free and independent Poland with access to the sea.
14. Establish an association of all nations, big and small, respecting the sovereignty of each.

The Reagan Presidency also coincided with massive economic crisis in the developing world. Hyperinflation, foreign currency shortages and capital flight were common across the Global South. The Reagan administration and the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pushed the countries struggling with economic crisis to make structural changes. These countries had to abandon their prior economic development models (import substation industrialization -ISI) and switch to the free market model. Also referred as neoliberalism, the new development model required:

The 43rd President of the United States won a disputed victory against the Democratic candidate Al Gore in 2000 presidential elections. While Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote. This result was due to a very slim (less than 700 votes) margin in the state of Florida, which came after multiple rounds of recount.

The “tariff wars” triggered by President Trump resemble a protectionist and isolationist doctrine. His election slogan “Make America Great Again” can also be interpreted as a protectionist and isolationist motto. However, it is difficult to gauge his legacy when he is still in power and is willing to make drastic changes in his own foreign policy initiatives.

Containment: US foreign policy adopted in late 1940s against the rising powers of the Soviet Union. It tried to curb the expansion of the Soviet influence and socialism at military, political, economic and ideological levels.

Deterrence: Having a credible threat to punish a potential aggressor if they take a negative action.

Primary: Elections within the party to select the nominees for the upcoming elections. Candidates need to run against the candidates from their own party and win the primaries first, in order to compete for political office.

Sanctions: A tool of statecraft, frequently involving economic measures such as asset freezes and trade restrictions, or visa and travel restrictions. Used to exact a certain behavior or outcome from another party. The U.S. and EU sanctions against Russian companies and individuals that aim to encourage Russia to end its interference in Ukraine are an example.

Satisficing: The term, used in political psychology, refers to the processes of reasoning in decision making. Instead of finding the optimum or the best solution to a problem, settling for the “good enough” option.

For President Washington, temporary alliances were fine but in the long run, permanent alliances were not in the interests of the new nation.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who served for two terms from 1901 to 1909, was a strong advocate of US expansionism. He was a naval commander before his presidency.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who served for two terms from 1901 to 1909, was a strong advocate of US expansionism. He was a naval commander before his presidency. When he got elected to the White House, he made sure the U.S. military presence was felt across the world. Around this period, there were negotiations with Colombia to build a canal that would connect Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

President Roosevelt was instrumental in supporting the secessionist elites in Colombia, who eventually led to the formation of a small but independent Panama in 1903.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s, who became the architect of the Good Neighbor Policy in the Americas.

In his annual address to the Congress in 1904, President Roosevelt expressed a globally assertive and interventionist doctrine. Commonly referred as the Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, the sections of his speech made it explicit that the U.S. was now ready to serve as the “international police power.”

He provided the lexicon of international relations with numerous famous expressions, such as “right to national self-determination, “making the world safe for democracy”, and “a just and lasting peace.”

Wilson is considered an idealist president, for having his moral values direct his foreign policy agenda. He valued peace, prosperity and democracy in the world. He wanted to promote international law and institutions to facilitate these goals. Among his top priorities was establishing a League of Nations.

1. Open diplomacy among nations, no secret treaties. 2. Freedom of the seas, except territorial waters 3. Free trade; removal of all trade barriers 4. Disarmament: reducing military build up 5. Anti-colonialism 6. End the invasion of Russia. 7. End the invasion of Belgium. 8. End the Prussian invasion of France. 9. Italy’s national borders must be respected. 10. People of Austria-Hungarian Empire should have “the freest opportunity of autonomous development.” 11. End the invasion of Balkans, respect territorial integrity of Balkan nations. 12. Restore the sovereignty of Turkish portions of the Ottoman Empire, autonomy to others, free passage from Dardanelles. 13. A free and independent Poland with access to the sea. 14. Establish an association of all nations, big and small, respecting the sovereignty of each.

NAFTA is North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 1994.