Strains In The Unipolar Order And Multilateralism

In Chapter 10, America Under Fire, two subtitles in the chapter are called “Strains in the Unipolar Order” and “Retreat from Multilateralism”. These two topics help the reader understand the tension and thought processes American had in the late 1990’s. The relative calm of the late 1990s affirmed Americans’ long-standing belief that the peace, is the natural state of global affairs, and that the spread of democracy and free markets would produce violent conflict. In addition to the unrest over globalization, a second source of tension confronted the makers of American foreign policy after the Cold War: the growing rift between Washington and the array of international institutions the United States had actively supported since World War II.
American preeminence provoked resentment and a certain measure of jealousy within states and societies with fewer resources and less clout. Most of discontent was directed toward American soft power, the multinational corporations and media outlets whose promotion of consumer culture threatened traditional customs and forms of expression in multiple cultures. Some people denounced American foreign policy, mainly the governments selective procedure to free trade. Critics perceived American officials to be overly moralistic. Mostly because U.S. actions often proclaimed democratic values were misplaced, but because U.S. actions often contradicted them. These controversies tarnished America’s image at the peak of its world power. America traditionally views the nation as a city on a hill, but foreign governments and citizens saw a Washington arrogant with power and indifferent to problems such as global warming, mass starvation in Africa, AIDs, and weapon proliferation. It was clear that the unipolar order was far from a harmony of interest, let alone a universal embrace of American
More than 150 governments from different countries pledged to support the treaty. The treaty was based on the premise that a ban on testing would prevent potential proliferators from building weapons in the first place. Critics predicted that hostile nations would exploit American restraint and threaten the United States when its guard was down. The United States found itself an outcast on a wide variety of other international agreements. Clinton refused to sign the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention calling for a worldwide ban on land mines, whose primary victims were civilians in war torn developing countries. The Department of Defense opposed the land mines treaty on the grounds that “antipersonnel” mines were vital to preventing a North Korean invasion of South Korea. George W. Bush became president in January 2001. He was the governor of Texas and the son of former president George H. W. Bush. Bush had no intention to mend fences with some relationships with some countries. Condoleezza Rice was Bush’s national security adviser who had dismissed during the campaign as an illusion. To her, the multilateral cooperation and institution building embraced by the United States since the end of World War II had not brought the rest of the world in line with the nations democratic values. Bush’s administration produced open ended commitments and