Cold War Globalization
Nicholas Powell
Dr. Reinhold Wagnleitner
Fall 2014
American Power in a Globalizing World
How has globalization impacted American power following the Cold War? Since I am not only a History major that has been focusing on both American and European history, I am also a Global Studies minor. One important conclusion that I have come to is that the events in a particular location, usually have global ramifications. Ramifications normally present themselves in the form of changes in policy, research committees, etc. In addition to my current educational efforts, I am still serving as a United States Army soldier. The combination of these characteristics causes me to be constantly interested in the world’s happenings. Due to those events having …show more content…
3
For further reading into the shifting of American national interests following the Cold War, see Samuel P.
Huntington, “American identity: the erosion of American national interests.”(November 1997)
Powell !5 the Cold War, allowed the U.S. and other nations to collectively implement progress much quicker because of the potential for conflict that the Soviets imposed. What would America compete with now that Communism had been defeated? Did America need a new enemy?
Does America have one today?
“The downfall of the Roman Empire brought an end not just to Roman rule, but to
Roman government and law and to an entire economic system stretching from Northern
Europe to North Africa. Culture, the arts, even progress in science and technology, were set back a few centuries” (Kagan, “Why the World needs America”)
Interdependence
Before the Soviet Union’s collapse, the globe was split into a very political and economic heterogeneous climate, but globalization has mixed most of the globe into a homogenous mixture. The fall of the Iron Curtain allowed countries that had already …show more content…
Military expediters are such a large topic in the discussion on American economic health because historically such a large amount of its GDP is spent on defense while such small percentages are spent in other sectors.6 When analyzing American defense expenditures, one could question if our 100-year-old foreign policy could use a makeover, or at least a couple lessons in public relations, and a lesson or two from a certified public accountant. Should our “Big Stick Diplomacy”7 continue? Is this something we should reconsider? Globalization is causing us to revisit these questions more thoroughly, subsequently impacting American power or the perceptions of its own power.
The New Boogieman
As the Soviet Union faded from America’s radar, U.S. defense spending ebbed and flowed through the 90s and 2000s, due to conflicts such as the “War on Drugs”, “War on
Terror”, and Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, to name a few. In the past three years, however defense spending has been on a smooth decline. This does not mean America
Dr. Reinhold Wagnleitner
Fall 2014
American Power in a Globalizing World
How has globalization impacted American power following the Cold War? Since I am not only a History major that has been focusing on both American and European history, I am also a Global Studies minor. One important conclusion that I have come to is that the events in a particular location, usually have global ramifications. Ramifications normally present themselves in the form of changes in policy, research committees, etc. In addition to my current educational efforts, I am still serving as a United States Army soldier. The combination of these characteristics causes me to be constantly interested in the world’s happenings. Due to those events having …show more content…
3
For further reading into the shifting of American national interests following the Cold War, see Samuel P.
Huntington, “American identity: the erosion of American national interests.”(November 1997)
Powell !5 the Cold War, allowed the U.S. and other nations to collectively implement progress much quicker because of the potential for conflict that the Soviets imposed. What would America compete with now that Communism had been defeated? Did America need a new enemy?
Does America have one today?
“The downfall of the Roman Empire brought an end not just to Roman rule, but to
Roman government and law and to an entire economic system stretching from Northern
Europe to North Africa. Culture, the arts, even progress in science and technology, were set back a few centuries” (Kagan, “Why the World needs America”)
Interdependence
Before the Soviet Union’s collapse, the globe was split into a very political and economic heterogeneous climate, but globalization has mixed most of the globe into a homogenous mixture. The fall of the Iron Curtain allowed countries that had already …show more content…
Military expediters are such a large topic in the discussion on American economic health because historically such a large amount of its GDP is spent on defense while such small percentages are spent in other sectors.6 When analyzing American defense expenditures, one could question if our 100-year-old foreign policy could use a makeover, or at least a couple lessons in public relations, and a lesson or two from a certified public accountant. Should our “Big Stick Diplomacy”7 continue? Is this something we should reconsider? Globalization is causing us to revisit these questions more thoroughly, subsequently impacting American power or the perceptions of its own power.
The New Boogieman
As the Soviet Union faded from America’s radar, U.S. defense spending ebbed and flowed through the 90s and 2000s, due to conflicts such as the “War on Drugs”, “War on
Terror”, and Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, to name a few. In the past three years, however defense spending has been on a smooth decline. This does not mean America