Lecture 13: American Unilateralism

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Lecture 13 American Unilateralism the Bush
Doctrinesssssss

• 5th March 2003 (Wednesday)
• Session T1 this week
• Room 2303

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Revision Unilateralism and Multilateralism

• Multilateralism
• A state idea to push for proliferation of
  different powers of the world, together with the
  roughly equal importance of the multi-poles
• e.g. Anti-Terror Coalition
• Unilateralism
• A state idea to push for dominance of one power
  of the world, as well as its ability to act
  against other states
• e.g. The Bush Doctrine

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Structure of Lecture 13

• American Unilateralism Before 911
• Bush Doctrine Basic (Sept 2001)
• American Unilateralism after 911
• Formation of the Axis of Evil
• Bush Doctrine Turbo (June 2002)
• The Pre-emptive Doctrine
• Conclusion Reassessing the Iraqi Crisis

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PART IAmerican Unilateralism Before 911
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2000 The Greatest Division of American Foreign
Policy

• Bill Clinton The Policy of Reconciliation
• Presidential Election of 2000
• the greatest policy change of America by a
  presidential election since Franklin Roosevelt
  (1932)
• George W bush before 911 A Representative of
• Simple and Naïve Cowboys
• Arrogant but Afraid-to-die Eagles
• Model of Bush the Second Reagan Administration
  (1985-8)

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Bushs Cow-boyism Before 911

• Rejection of Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (for
  the National Missile Defense System, NMDS/ Star
  War II)
• Opposition to United Nations Strengthening of
  Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
• Withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol on Climate
  Change

http//unfccc.int/resource/process/components/resp
onse/respkp.html
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Retreat from Clintonistic Dialogues

• Declined Palestines Arafats Visit Increased
  intimacy with Israels Sharon
• Stopped official contact with North Korea
• Spy Plane Crushing Incident with China

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Theory of Hegemonic Stability

• Existence of a World Hegemony will help
  maintaining the global security and stability
• Especially if the Hegemony is a Benign Hegemony
• e.g. UK before WWI? USA after WWII?
• Political and Economic Concepts
• Immanuel Wallerstein the Modern World-System
  (1974)
• Stephen Krasner Structural Conflict (1985)

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Statement of the Conservatives

• Multipolarity, yes, when there is no
  alternative. BUT NOT WHEN THERE IS.
• Not when we have the unique imbalance of power
  that we enjoy todayand that has given the
  international system a stability and essential
  tranquility it had not know for at least a
  century.
• Charles Krauthammer,
• Conservative Columnist, June 2001

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PART IIBush Doctrine The Basic (Sept 2001)
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The Good Vs the Evil

• Those states that harbor terrorists should be
  treated in the same ways as terrorists.
• You are either with us or with the terrorists.
  
• Everyone must take side.
• George W Bush, September 20, 2001

VS
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Objectives of Bush Doctrine

• Objective Eradication of Terrorist Havens
• Targets Afghanistan and its potential sponsors
  (Pakistan, KSA, UAE, Russia)
• Main Achievements
• Terrified most nations of the world
• Confirmed the American hegemonic status
• Legitimized its invasion of Afghanistan

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Main Critiques against the Bush Doctrine

• The Most Direct Extortion in Modern History
• Comparison with Hitler of Nazi Germany
• Must take side
• The Case of Switzerland
• Disallowance of International Variance
• Still in Compliance to the Rules of International
  Order

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Bush Doctrine Vs Its Replacement The Sinatra
Doctrine

• Sinatra Doctrine
• Frank Sinatra My Way
• Soviet Leader Gorbachev (Gorbachev Doctrine)
• Eastern European satellites should walk their
  ways in terms of reforms and diplomacy
• Seconded by Ronald Reagan
• Bush Doctrine
• You cant walk your way!

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PART III American Unilateralism After 911
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Unilateralism in the War

• Self-defense against Taliban
• Vs United Nations Authorization on the War on
  Terrorism
• Guantanamo Bay Scandal
• refer to Lecture 9
• Admission of Totalitarian Members in the
  Anti-Terror Coalition (Uzbekistan, Pakistan)

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Unilateralism Outside the War (I)

• North Atlantic TREATY Organization (NATO)
• Backslash of Sponsoring the Russia Admission into
  NATO
• Initial Support of Britain USA
• After 911 realized the uselessness of Russia
  in the World Stage
• NATO Membership 191 not 20

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Unilateralism Outside the War (II)

• Winter Olympic Games at Salt Lake City (Feb 2002)
• First large-scaled function hosted in the USA
  after 911
• Soldiers carried the American Flag from the World
  Trade Center at the Opening Ceremony
• How about an Afghan Flag from Kabul Caves?

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Formation of the Axis of Evil (30th January
2002)

• The Only Involuntary Alliance in Modern History
• Historic Origin
• The Axis (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo, WWII)
• The Evil Empire (USSR, by Ronald Reagan)
• Criteria to join the Axis of Evil
• Totalitarianism
• Anti-Americanism
• Feasible Targets
• PR Value!

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The Three Evil Members

• Iraq
• The Saddam Hussein Secular Dictatorship
• Iran
• The Ayatollah Khamenei Religious Dictatorship
• North Korea
• The Kim Jong-Il Communist Dictatorship

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The Three Outer Members of the Axis of Evil (6th
May 2002)

• Supplementing the Careless Mistakes
• Libya
• The Gaddafi Terrorist Dictatorship
• Cuba
• The Castro Communist Dictatorship
• Syria
• The Assad Family Dictatorship

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Missing Members?

• China
• Jiang Zemins Quasi-Communist-Nationalist
  Dictatorship?
• Russia
• Pukins Chauvinistic Dictatorship?

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Assigned Readings

• Main Text
• Michael Byers Terror and the Future of
  International Law (BD P.118-127)
• Supplementary Text
• Immanuel Wallerstein Mr. Bushs War on
  Terrorism How Certain is the Outcome? (BD
  P.95-100).

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PART IV Bush Doctrine Turbo (June 2002)
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Pre-emptive Doctrine

• Our security will require all Americans to be
  forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for
  pre-emptive action when necessary to defend our
  liberty and to defend our lives.
• George W Bush, June 2002

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Objectives and Targets

• Implications
• Your registration of with us/with them is no
  longer important
• Evidence is no longer important
• What matters is whether I say you are with us
  or with them
• American suspect ? Potential danger in the future
  ? needed to be contained by Pre-emptive actions
  ? Eradication of the Members of the Axis of Evil
• Creating a New international order!
• American by-pass of United Nations in the Iraqi
  Crisis

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Origins of Bush Turbo (I)

• Classic Chinese War Tactic of Sun-tzu
  Pre-emptivism (????)
• Robert Cooper (Advisor of Tony Blair)
  Post-Modern State and the World Order (2000)
• Rogue States should be punished pre-emptively,
  regardless of the international law
• NATO Intervention on the Kosovo Conflict

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Origins of Bush Turbo (II) Failure of
Deterrence

• Deterrence
• Cold War Doctrine for the Bipolar World
• One superpower deters the attack of another
  superpower, by developing sophisticated weapons
• Threats DETERRED by threats of huge casualties
• Pre-emptive Doctrine
• Americas super-power capability failed to
  deter the Terrorists
• Thus, these threats could not be deterred
  should be pre-empted

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Typology of States in Bush Doctrine, Turbo

• Type A Democratic States (USA)
• Type B Transitional States (Third World China?)
• Type C Rogue States (Iraq) ? to be pre-empted!
• Type D Failure States (Somalia)

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PART V Conclusion Reassessing the Iraqi
Crisis
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The American Logic to Attack Iraq

• Iraq is a member of the Axis of Evil, because it
  is suspected by Bush of possessing Mass
  Destructive Weapons (MDW)
• ? Evidence still debatable
• ? America is preparing to pre-empt the Iraqi
  threat
• ? By using its own MDW against the Iraqi People

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Against the Logic of Everyday Life?

• Against Fundamental Western Legal Principle
• Suspect without Evidence Guilty
• Vs Suspect without Evidence Innocent
• Basic Rule of International Relations
• Basic Rule of Everyday Life
• Can Saddam Hussein Have His Saddam Doctrine,
  His Own Pre-emptivism?

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The End
Thank you for attending