You are the new National Security Advisor to President Biden. The President is doing a complete review of his foreign policy and is willing to listen to any and all proposals on the future of U.S. foreign policy. In this vein, he has asked you to comment on the following:Today, the United States still remains the greatest power on the face of the earth.
There are three central questions that the President has asked you to answer in light of this:
1) What should the United States do with its power? What should its goals be as it approaches international politics? How do you prioritize these goals? Your advisors (i.e. readings since Module 9 on your syllabus) have suggested a range of alternatives that are broadly linked to certain theoretical approaches discussed in the first part of the course. Some of these options include pursuing economic interests; promoting human rights; re-casting the world in the image of the United States through the promotion of democracy; and/or the exclusive pursuit of U.S. power objectives. You may dip into these and other goals as well as re-cast them or prioritize them according to your liking. USE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
2) How should the United States go about pursuing these goals? Again, the options vary dramatically here: military force or diplomacy; multilateralism or unilateralism; the continued promotion of hegemony or retreat into isolation; a global market economy; etc. You might want to think about not just what it should do but what it is capable of doing. USE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
3) The President has asked for some self-criticism. What are the pitfalls to the approach that you suggest? You need to reflect on what your critics might say and answer those criticisms. USE HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
