American Foreign Policy-Major Issues

Introduction

Every country’s foreign policy usually focuses on a few issues of concern, and a few countries/regions of interest. However, a global power like the USA has a global agenda and global outreach. This thread will discuss American Foreign Policy in a 1–5 analytical framework, i.e.,

1. One Goal: Global Hegemony
2. Two Issues: Terrorism, and Nuclear Proliferation
3. Three Countries: Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea,
4. Four Powers: China, Russia, EU, and India
5. Five Regions: South America, Middle EAST, South East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia

Accordingly, the USA adopts different sets of strategies in different regions to safeguard its national interest

What is National Interest?

Preserving national interest is the paramount foreign policy goal of every country. While its details differ from country to country, national interest essentially revolves around four inter-dependent core aims with accompanying short-term and long-term objectives namely

1. National Security/Territorial Integrity: Having the sufficient capability to counter foreign aggression and internal subversion
2. Economic Wellbeing of People: Improving the quality of life of its citizens through rapid economic growth based on access to foreign resources and markets
3. Preserving Internal Harmony/promoting its soft image: by promoting its own set of moral/cultural values outside
4. Ensuring Regional/Global Peace: To ensure the realisation of the above three, For a superpower, maintaining peace in every region is part of its national interest.

To safeguard its national interest, the USA employs multiple strategies, utilising all diplomatic and other means at its disposal. Some of these measures are

1. Diplomatic Engagement
2. Alliance Building
3. Threat/ Use of Force
4. Resource Denial to adversaries
5. Hostile Engagement: engaging them in regional conflicts directly or through proxies, assisting their enemies to challenge,
6. Wooing/Threatening the rivals’ friendly states
7. Regime Changes
8. Support its puppet regimes

Areas of Interest/Issues of Concern for American Grand Strategy

While a nation-state has a foreign policy, a superpower, having global agenda, has a grand strategy, encompassing multiple foreign policies for different regions, and issues. Accordingly, American grand strategy is tailored to its needs in any specific region of interest/issue of concern and is based on three cardinal principles of international relations namely

1. Permanence of National Interests: There being no permanent friends or permanent enemies in international relations, only permanent interests, the bilateral relations between any two countries keep on changing with the changes in objective realities
2. Flexibility of Priorities: Superpowers have global agenda; hence their relations with a country will depend upon their own sets of priorities, changing with the changing geopolitical environment and the requirements of the USA’s foreign policy in that part of the world.
3. Relativity of Importance: The relevance and usefulness of any country for a superpower of the day is directly proportionate to its usefulness for the achievement of permanent interests of the superpowers; sometimes geo-strategically located small countries become more important

1–5 Framework

A. One Goal: Maintaining Global Hegemony

No doubt, the USA is still the most dominant global power thanks to its economic clout, technological sophistication, military might, territorial security, and dollar dominance. But, slowly and surely, its margin of superiority is shrinking

An economically emerging China has eroded the economic pre-eminence of the USA and is threatening its dollar dominance. Consequently, the first main aim of the American grand strategy is to maintain this global dominance by containing the rise of China by any means possible

To create a world order as per its image- a Pax Americana. Essentially, it means to ensure the promotion of a market economy (aka Capitalism), liberal democracy, and Western culture as the three default conditions of the global world order.

B. Two Issues of Greatest Concern

While there is a long list of issues about which American foreign policymakers are deeply concerned, I will highlight only two which to me are of prime importance, namely

1. Global Terrorism
2. Nuclear Proliferation

Two Issues-1: Global Terrorism

While a direct land attack on the mainland USA is next to impossible, they are worried about international terrorism and nuclear missile attack by any hostile state or non-state actors on the USA or its allies

America’s Counterterrorism Strategy

1. Pursuing terrorists to their source
2. Isolating terrorists from their sources of support
3. Modernizing and integrating counterterrorism tools
4. Countering terrorist radicalization and recruitment
5. 5. Strengthening international partners

Two Issues-2: Nuclear Proliferation

America’s Anti-nuclear Proliferation Strategies fall into two categories

1. Non-proliferation: It typically involves the creation and enactment of treaties, international conventions, domestic laws, regulations, and even non-binding codes of conduct.
2. Counter-proliferation Methods: Counter-proliferation methods are designed to interdict the transfer of WMD or the materials and know-how to make WMD, shoot down missiles armed with WMD, and even employ military force to prevent the use of WMD.

C. Three Nuisance Countries-1: Iran

Numerous countries could be a cause of headaches for the USA, I have selected the three as the most nuisance ones, namely

1. Iran
2. Afghanistan
3. North Korea

Three Nuisance Countries-1: Iran

Iran is the biggest headache for the USA because it defies American hegemony, is a threat to American regional policeman Israeli, and its regional puppet regimes, its nuclear ambitions, links to terrorism, and close ties to Russia/China

Thus to cut Iran to size, American strategy includes multiple instruments, overt and covert such as economic warfare/sanctions, support for anti-Iran proxy forces/dissidents, an all-out offensive against the regime’s ideological legitimacy, and thwarting its nuclear ambitions

Three Nuisance Countries-2: Afghanistan

Even after more than one year of its exit from Afghanistan, USA-Afghanistan relations are tense as the Taliban failed to uphold counter-terrorism commitments, respect human rights, and establish an inclusive political system.

Accordingly, the USA is acting upon the traditional carrot and sticks policy to deal with the Taliban, offering them to release their confiscated US$ 9B in return for fulfilling their commitments while resorting to traditional counter-terrorism actions, including drone attacks

Three Nuisance Countries-3: North Korea

Although North Korea is not in the limelight as it used to be in the recent past, it is still there as a headache for the USA. It is a threat not only to America’s staunch allies in the region but also to the American bases, maybe the USA itself

The U.S. has tried diplomatic inducements, including the normalization of relations, security guarantees, economic and food aid, and confidence-building steps. Failing to achieve results, the USA tried sanctions but failed because of a lack of support from China, Russia, and others.

D. Four Major Powers

Similarly, out of the 7/8 major powers such as Japan, Canada, Australia, Russia etc, I have selected the following four which to me are the focus of American foreign policy namely

1. China
2. Russia
3. European Union
4. India

Four Major Powers-1: China

Besides the global hegemonic ambitions of the two superpowers of the day, there are several other stumbling blocks to harmonious relations between them. Kindly read this article of mine to have a broad overview of these issues

https://shahidhraja.medium.com/9-drivers-of-the-america-china-cold-war-b40356b3adea

Four Major Powers-2: Russia

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the USA never treated Russia as a global power but things started changing after Putin came into power in 2012. Since then Russia has emerged as both a major European and, increasingly, global power.

Besides being a nuclear superpower keeping pace with the US in the modernisation of nuclear weapons, missile and anti-missile systems, and conventional armaments. Russia enjoys veto power in the Security Council which it uses successfully to thwart American initiatives.

it has vast gas resources desperately needed by the American allies in Europe and opposes NATO’s expansion towards its borders. Its geopolitical ambitions, rejection of American hegemony, insistence on its security sphere on influence, and opposition to American push for democratic reforms in Russia or Central Asia frustrate the USA and its allies.

But the USA needs Russia for counter-terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, resolving regional conflicts, and most importantly to contain China. It is standing eyeball to eyeball with the USA in every conflict zone such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq, etc, Americans rightly blame Russia for their defeat in Afghanistan.

Russia has successfully foiled NATO’S ambitious plan to expand closer to Russia by annexing vital areas of Ukraine. Russia’s close ties with Iran and Europe’s over-dependence on its gas requirements, it is the Russia-China nexus that is a headache for the USA.

Thus cutting Russia to size and making it a partner against China in the looming Cold War 2 has become the overriding goal of America’s foreign policy about Russia. Hence destabilising pro-Russia governments through CIA-sponsored colour revolutions and economic sanctions!

Four Major Powers-3: European Union

Once a colony of one of the European countries namely Great Britain whom it replaced as a global hegemon after the 2nd World War, the USA, and Europe have been the closest allies due to shared values and interests.

The US-Europe alliance through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the formation of the European Union have been the bedrock of American strategy for global peace and security. It has stood the test of time for their multidimensional interdependence.

Europe facing multiple internal and external challenges is not able to ditch the USA. America, in turn, is too much dependent on Europe to achieve its following foreign policy objective

1. Europe should not only help the USA in restraining Russia from expanding its influence in Europe, but it should be the vanguard of the foreign policy objective of the USA to cut Russia to size and then make it a partner for the containment of China
2. Europe should not only refrain from becoming a Chines lake in terms of trade, investment, and technology transfer but should be its steadfast partner in the containment of China by joining it in the various pacts and alliances the USA is forging around China.
3. Europe should assist the USA in strengthening the rules-based international system, a euphemism to signify a world order dominated by the USA and its allies.
4. Europe should work together to confront global security challenges like terrorism, violent extremism, nuclear weapons proliferation, and transnational crime.
5. Europe must remain its biggest trade and investment partner and a conduit for technology transfer

Four Major Countries-4: India

India has always been coveted by the USA for its size, its democratic credentials, its soft image, its vast talented diaspora, and as a counterpoise to China. Even during the Cold War when India was siding with USSR, it was the largest recipient of USAID.

The new geopolitical and geostrategic developments have brought India and the USA even closer. It is the new geopolitical realignments in which Pakistan is siding with the Chinese-Russian Nexus while USA and India are coming closer to counter emerging China and resurging Russia.

The US is India’s most comprehensive strategic partner, and cooperation between the two extends across multiple areas such as trade, defence, intelligence, cyberspace, civil nuclear energy, emerging technologies, and counterterrorism

Two multilateral strategic dialogues that have gained prominence in recent years are the Quad grouping (of India, Australia, Japan, and the US) revived in 2017, and the new West Asian Quad or I2U2 (comprising Israel, India, United Arab Emirates, and the US) inaugurated in 2021.

The Quad has become a premier format for India and the US to pursue targeted multilateral cooperation with like-minded countries to counter China while the West Asian Quad’s focus on technology cooperation carries unique potential.

E. Five Regions of Interest for the USA

Keeping in view the global scale of its foreign policy aims, we can list the following regions for their respective importance to the USA.

1. Latin America
2. Southeast Asia
3. South Asia
4. Middle East
5. Central Asia

Five Regions of Interest for USA-1: Latin America

From a security point of view, Latin America is USA’s backwater or soft belly. As such USA will never tolerate anyone destabilising it or establishing their foothold which could pose a threat to the USA. (Monroe Doctrine)

South America is also USA’s hinterland, supplying human and mineral resources and a lucrative market for its products and services. Finally, it is a source of illegal drugs coming into the USA. Accordingly, some of the American strategies in Latin America are to

1. Protect all US-friendly regimes in all the countries of the region by providing them with all the military and diplomatic support
2. Topple any regime considered not friendly towards the USA or considered dangerously close to the Chinese and Russians
3. Engaging their business elite through joint ventures 4. Carry out overt and covert anti-narcotics operations in these countries with and without the cooperation of the concerned governments

Five Regions of Interest for USA-2: Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia holds special importance for the USA to achieve its geostrategic and geo-economic interests-hence the most celebrated Pivot to Asia which eclipsed the importance of several traditional U.S. trading partners.

ASEAN represents the world’s fourth largest market, and the United States is ASEAN’s largest source of foreign direct investment, while U.S. goods and services trade with ASEAN totalled an estimated $441.7 billion in 2021. More than 6,200 U.S. companies operate within ASEAN

Southeast Asia lies at the intersection of two of the world’s most heavily travelled sea lanes. Incidentally, three of the seven famous choke points- the Strait of Malacca, Sunda Strait, and the Straits of Lombok and Makassar are located in this ocean

Above all, Southeast Asia is extremely important for achieving the prime objective of containing China which does not have friendly relations with its immediate neighbours due to its territorial claims. It has given the USA a godsend opportunity to implement its containment policy

Thus American strategy in Southeast Asia largely revolves around the containment of China by entering into strategic alliances with Southeast Asian countries, greater integration with the American market, and shoring up its military bases

Five Regions of Interest for USA-3: Middle East

Despite all the rhetoric about the U.S. “pivot” to the Pacific, the Middle East remains vital to the United States for multiple geostrategic and geo-economic reasons.

Besides being a repository of half of the world’s proven oil reserves, the Middle East is also the locus of vital shipping lanes accounting for 60% of oil cargo and 40% of other merchandise. Keeping them open is vital for the economy and the security of the USA and its allies.

Before moving further, kindly read this article of mine to understand the importance of the Middle East in world politics and its various fault lines responsible for instability in the region.

To safeguard its above-mentioned vital interests in the Middle East, the USA has a hybrid strategy ranging from

1. Protecting & promoting Israel, its local policeman
2. No one should ever think of attaining nuclear parity with the Israeli clandestine nuclear capability.
3. No military in the region should be powerful enough to pose any conventional military threat to Israel
4. There should not ever be any anti-Israel alliance in the Middle East like the one formed in 1967.
5. Force Syria to conclude a separate peace treaty with Israel, ceding parts of the Golan Heights
6. No country to support any anti-Israel militant groups
7. Cajoling and forcing Middle Eastern countries to recognise Israel
8. Restricting increasing Chinese influence in the region
9. Keeping its military bases at strategic locations but denying this facility to its arch-rivals China and Russia
10. Protecting its puppet regimes in the region while destabilising those who do not toe its line
11. Exploiting Sunni-Shiite divide to protect Gulf oil & gas supplies

Five Regions of Interest for USA-4: South Asia

South Asia has always been an area of special interest for the USA but it has assumed greater significance because of the rapidly changing global power dynamics threatening American hegemony. Some facts

1. Proximity to Central Asia, the soft belly of Russia
2. Bordering Tibet, the soft belly of China.
3. Bordering the Indian Ocean from where 80% of ships carrying goods to and from its Allies pass
4. Outer border of the Middle East, important for resources, markets, power projection
5. Home of two nuclear powers Pakistan and India
6. Hotbed of international terrorism; the biggest worry of the USA if they get hold of a nuclear device
7. Huge market for exports, resource base, FDI potential, and the reservoir of educated/skilled manpower.

The main objectives of American South Asian policy are

1. Ensuring peace between India and Pakistan to avoid nuclear war between them
2. Capturing the market for its manufactured goods and services
3. Access to its human capital and material resources for itself and its Allies
4. Maritime security for the safe passage of ships passing through the Indian Ocean
5. Elimination of terrorism in the region
6. Denying Russia any leverage to play any significant role in regional dispute resolution
7. Restricting increasing Chinese influence in the region

Accordingly, the USA has adopted the following policies in dealing with South Asia

1. Treating India as the regional hegemon to control the peace and security in the region.
2. Defence/Strategic Cooperation Agreement with India
3. Preparing India as a counterpoise to China
4. Ensuring that Pakistan doesn’t become a total satellite state of China through its carrot and sticks policy
5. Keeping close liaison with Pakistan’s security establishment for its counter-terrorism strategy
6. Keeping low-level terrorism/insurgency in Pakistan to keep it in line

Five Regions of Interest for USA-5: Central Asia

Besides being a hotbed of terrorism, Central Asia area of importance to the USA for two reasons

1. Proximity to major actors like Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, and India
2. Oil & gas resources, estimated to be 200 B barrels

Thus America’s Central Asian strategy revolves around

1. Forcing Russia to abandon China,& become the West’s partner in the containment of China
2. Restraining China to get a firm foothold in the region
3. Getting easy & concessional access to the region’s vast hydrocarbon resources

Accordingly, American Central Asian strategy comprises

1. Destabilising pro-Russia regimes in the region through “Colour Revolutions”
2. Expansion of NATO toward Central Asian countries
3. Promotion of Western-style liberal democracy
4. Greater trade and investment

From my book “International Relations: Basic Concepts & Global Issues”, available at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QZSRWT1