Over the course of the last two centuries, the United States has established itself as an economic, political and military leader in the international community. Although it is quite evident that the US has been the dominant world power throughout the course of the twentieth century, like many great empires, the United States appears to be on the decline. In addition to the fact that the US is not the thriving economic center that it once was, current economic data on other countries and regions of the world suggest that the US will continue to decline as developing nations push toward industrialization. Despite this reality, the United States government continues to press forward asserting its primacy and hegemony in the international community.With the realization that the US as an empire is one the decline, there is a clear impetus to examine how the government's primacy will impact the nation with respect to the international community. Using this as a basis for investigation, this research seeks to answer the following question: Is US primacy actually a stimulus to war, or a means of achieving international order? Through a careful consideration of what has been written about US hegemony and its impact on the development of international relations, it will be possible to demonstrate that US primacy is a precipitant of war.
[...] Rather, according to Heiss, the US developed a policy of positive foreign development in which the government would not exert its authority over nay territory or country unless there was a positive, altruistic need to do so. Having been oppressed by the imperialist powers during the colonial age, the United States had made a commitment to pursue anti-imperialist policies to substantiate international development. Although Heiss argues that the policies adopted by the US were indeed anti- imperialist in nature, he contends that in the past two centuries, the United States has only been able to sustain this ideology in theory. [...]
[...] Thus, terrorist acts perpetuated against the US are a direct response of groups to the political actions pursued by the US. For this reason, the US government cannot make the argument that terrorism will proliferate unless the US stops it from occurring. Using the definition proposed by the US government, terrorism will continue to occur only if the policies enacted by the US continue to offend clandestine or subnational groups. Therefore, the best way to stop the spread of terrorism is to develop more uniform policy that seeks international peace, rather than the expansion of America's empire. [...]
[...] While supporters of imperialism argue that the US is pursuing imperialist policies in an effort to improve outcomes for both the US and the international community as a whole, those who reject imperialism contend that the US is promulgating more strife than cooperation in the international community. Thus, the question is one of how to address this issue such that a clear understanding of the impact of America's imperialism can be assessed. Assessing the Current Position of the United States Critically reviewing what has been written about the impact of America's imperialist policies overall, it seems reasonable to argue that many of the authors examining this issue have provided considerable criticism of government's foreign policy. [...]
[...] As such, these individuals contend that the only way to ensure the expansion of global terrorism does not have a detrimental impact on the US is to force the development of democracy and freedom: even if this means through the use of imperialist policies. In short, the United States, because of its world dominance through the twentieth century knows what is best for the international community. Defining Terrorism Unfortunately, when examined in this context, it becomes evident that a true dichotomy has been created with respect to this issue. [...]
[...] As a result, US intervention that pushes an agenda that works to further entrench the hegemony of the US does nothing more than anger some groups in developing nations. Thus, while it is not fair to argue that terrorism would end if the US stopped pursing imperialist policies, the reality is that until the US is willing to stop pursing its own needs its actions will be viewed negatively. This will happen even if the US is defending itself from the worst terrorist attack in recent history. [...]
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