Temat: US Foreign Policy: American quasi-empire: its systemic...

The position the United States has achieved in the modern world is unquestionable. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the American sphere of influence resembles only that of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago. Thus, it seems to be natural that many call the United States as the “empire.” However, due to the systemic nature of American dominance a more proper term should be used – “quasi-empire.”
In contradiction to the Roman or British Empires, the American quasi-empire does not consist of conquered provinces ruled by consuls or gubernators. There are no boundaries of the “quasi-empire”, as its influence does not rely on military expansion. The aim of the “quasi-empire” is not to dominate other societies. It is not to exploit them economically either. What is the systemic nature of the American quasi-empire, then?
The United States has built a network of military alliances and economic blocs. This set of alliances enables coordinating of economic exchange worldwide, and providing security guarantees to the less powerful members of the network, who welcome such a form of influence, as it preserves their autonomy and makes a collective policymaking not only desirable, but necessary. The quasi-empire is based on both: multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the World Trade Organization, and bilateral treaties and agreements such as the ones with Japan, Korea or Israel, to mention just a few.
The influence the United States has derives from the so-called “soft power.” It translates into technological (both civil and military) superiority, cultural influence (American pop culture – Hollywood productions, popular books or music – is known everywhere in the world), language (American English used and taught worldwide), education (American universities are perceived as the best), etc. One cannot ignore the power of American economy, which directly influences world economies by generating more than 25% of the global economy. The New York Stock Exchange dictates the trends on world stock markets. American currency is the most trusted in the world and most transactions are conducted in US dollars. American companies are the biggest private investors on foreign markets. The United States grants many aid programs, which are to help developing countries all around the world.
The “soft power” is supported by the military presence in many strategic locations. The United States military power, accompanied by political agreements, guarantees the stability of the Persian Gulf region, the Korean Peninsular or the Balkans. The United States political and military alliances, being crucial for the existence of American quasi-empire, stabilize the markets and enhance economic growth, which was the case of Western Europe after World War II. Though the fundaments of the quasi-empire consist of “soft power” blocks, its stability is guaranteed by the military strength.
The present position of the United States on the international scene has its roots in the nineteenth century. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 is regarded as the first step on America’s road to the “quasi-empire.” The United States made the Western hemisphere its sphere of influence by claiming that “the American continents ... are henceforth not to be considered as subject for future colonization by any European power.” The Doctrine also stated that “we should consider any attempt on [the Europeans] part to expand their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.” Though the European rights to existing colonies were to be respected, the message was clear: the United States granted itself a right to play the main role in the region. The main reason for implementing this policy was a rapid development of the U.S. trade with Latin America and the worry that European influence could disturb the American economic expansion.
The hemispheric period had lasted until 1898. It characterized a fast economic development of the United States that caused a need for new markets for American products. The United States continued its expansion within the Western Hemisphere. The annexation of Texas in 1845, the agreement on Oregon Country in 1846, the cession of California in 1848 and the Alaska purchase in 1867 laid the continental foundations of the American quasi-empire. The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of American expansion on the Pacific. The acquisition of many Pacific islands, including Hawaii in 1898, initiated the expansion outside the continent. American ambitions and possibilities grew bigger and bigger. The next step was to be Asia.
The victorious war with Spain was a turning point in history of the American quasi-empire. The United States was to gain control over Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam and Philippines, which, de facto, would make the United States a colonial power. The situation caused strong controversies within the United States. An organization called “Anti-Imperialist League” objected the annexation of these territories (with Puerto Rico being an exception), arguing that such a policy was alien to the American tradition and values and damaging to the United States’ interests. According to anti-imperialists, creating a colonial empire would certainly lead to a conflict with other colonial empires and was against the law, as the Constitution did not regulate any matters connected with governing colonies. The proponents of the annexation saw it as a natural next step in the development of the country, justified by “manifest destiny.”
With the peace treaty accepted by the Senate, and Philippines’ naval bases at U.S. disposal, President McKinley could focus on another important issue – China. The “open doors” policy the administration tried to implement could be characterized as “‘fair field and no favor’ for anyone who wanted to compete in China market.” In practice, the United States wanted to be equal to the European powers and it succeeded. The United States became an empire. In September 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY, the president was greeted “Welcome McKinley, Chief of Our Nation and Empire.” The next day McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt became the president of the newly emerged empire.
Not only did Theodore Roosevelt want to continue the economic expansion in a search for new markets for American goods, but also he saw a new factor that would be stabilizing the Western Hemisphere – American capital investments. Roosevelt’s vision of the empire did not require more land. It required capital markets. Having invested millions in Latin America, Roosevelt had to build a mechanism that would protect American interests. The mechanism was created in 1904 and is known as Roosevelt’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It stated that the United States had a right to “interfere if it became evident that their [Latin American] inability or unwillingness to do justice at home and abroad had violated the rights of the United States or had invited foreign aggression to the detriment of the entire body of American nations.” The corollary “opened a new era in hemispheric relations.” It obviously strengthened the U.S. position in the world. The United States became sort of a representative of both Americas while dealing with the European powers. However, to sustain this position the United States needed a military power that would be able to enforce American will. Influenced by Alfred Mahan’s theories, Roosevelt believed that only a strong navy and its domination on the seas could guarantee the success of the United States policy. To operate freely on the oceans, the United States needed a canal joining the Atlantic and the Pacific. The creation of Panama, not without a violation of the international law, and the building of the Panama Canal was to make the United States a world-class naval power.
Unrest, revolutions and wars of the first decades of the twentieth century disturbed the process of creation of the American quasi-empire. The world plunged into chaos and the United States was not powerful enough to stop it. Although the entering World War I was another step on the road to the status of world empire, the United States remained just one of the powers. The rejection of the League of Nations stopped the globalization of the Monroe Doctrine. The 1920s were a period of a significant growth of the U.S. economic influence and as such could be regarded as the economic grounds for creating the global quasi-empire in the future. Yet, the 1930s brought a reverse from the interventionist policy, and turned the United States back to the world affairs by implementing an isolationist policy. Only Pearl Harbor in 1941 managed to change that attitude and caused the United States came back to the world politics as a great power. The end of World War II marked the third stage of the process of emerging of the American quasi-empire – the global stage.
The United States exited the war as the superpower, the most powerful state on Earth. Its economic and military potentials were second to none. America set rules of the game for the new world order. Years 1944 – 1950 could be treated as an outburst of American quasi-empire. The creation of such multilateral institutions as the United Nations, the International Monetary Found or the World Bank strengthened and institutionalized American position. The United States held either a veto power or a decisive voice in all of them.
Americans took over the responsibility for the territories that had traditionally been a British sphere of influence. Iran, Greece and Turkey were provided security guarantees the British could not provide any longer. The sphere of influences expanded dramatically. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, later Vietnam. All these countries became a part of the quasi-empire. The United States guaranteed them security throughout formal and informal agreements. The American answer to the outbreak of the Cold War was the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 – the first peacetime alliance in history of the United States, and other regional defensive blocs, such as the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand and the United States) Treaty in 1951 or the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954. These organizations were to protect its members in Europe and Asia against the Japanese (ANZUS) and Soviet (NATO and SEATO) imperialism and threat.
In economic terms the United States introduced the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Western Europe (it was offered to all European states, but Stalin objected the participation of the Eastern Europe countries) and created a permanent economic link between the European countries. The initiative strengthened the European allies, both economically and politically, and opened a huge market for American goods and capital. During the Cold War the United States remained the greatest economic power in the world.
After the end of the Cold War the United States remains the only military and economic power that is able to act alone, without consulting other states. Its potential, including both traditionally understood capital and human capital, allows us to extrapolate that the American quasi-empire will last for decades, widening the sphere of influence that even today is impressive. The list of American allies is longer than ever. Although some of the Cold War defensive treaties do not exist (SEATO - concluded in 1977), (ANZUS still exists but is practically dead), the most important one – NATO has survived and continues to be an important element of American quasi-empire. In Asia, the quasi-empire encompasses Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Afghanistan, and former Soviet republics in Central Asia (Kazachstan, Kirgistan). The latest events in the Persian Gulf region may indicate that a new Iraq would become a part of the quasi-empire as well, joining Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, not to mention Egypt and Israel. The whole Latin America, except for Cuba, is protected by Rio Treaty of 1947, a military pact that is a multilateral arm of the Monroe Doctrine. Still, there are some regions where the American influence is very limited. These are China, Russia, and Ukraine, most of the Islam states and almost whole Africa. In economic and cultural terms, the American quasi-empire, accompanied by the globalization, has achieved a truly global reach. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s or MTV are known probably everywhere in the world.