West Coast American Leadership Academy

Political Science 5 – Western Political Thought

Spring 2016 / Fall 2016 – Power Point 9

1. Cultural Conflict: The New Cold War?

2. Conflict, Violence, And War

3. Causes Of War

4. “Kin-Country” Syndrome

5. Redefining Civilization Identity

6. West Vs. The Rest

7. American Military Power

8. Making Foreign Policy

9. Public Influences Policy

10.Legislatures

Course Lecture Topics

Cultural Conflict:

The New Cold War?

• Tensions between civilizations are supplanting the political

and ideological rivalries persistent during the Cold War.

• Samuel Huntington argue, "the values that are most

important in the West are least important worldwide.”

• World politics will be directed in the future by conflicts that

according to Kishore Mahbubani will be between "the West

and the Rest."

• Samuel P. Huntington adds ."..and the responses of non-

Western civilizations to Western power and values.”

Conflict, Violence, And War

• Non-Western civilizations isolate themselves from

the Western-dominated global community.

• "Band-Wagoning" can lead non-Western countries

to join with the West and accept its values and

institutions.

• Non-Western countries can attempt to "balance"

the West by developing an alternative economic

and military power and ally with one another to

effective counter Western dominance.

Causes Of War

• Nationalism

• Ethnicity

• Religion

• Culture

• Natural Resources

“Kin-Country” Syndrome

• States try to rally support from states

that share a similar culture.

• Replaces political ideology and

traditional balance of power as the

principal basis for cooperation and

coalitions.

Redefining Civilization Identity

Samuel Huntington’s Three Requirements For Torn

Countries To Redefine Its Civilization Identity:

• The Country’s economic and political elites have to

enthusiastically endorse the transition.

• Its public has to endorse whatever new definition is

adopted.

• Dominant groups in the recipient civilization have

to embrace the convert.

West Vs. The Rest

• Samuel P. Huntington stresses that civilization-

consciousness is increasing and that global politics will

be focused on "the West and the Rest."

• This applies to conflicts between the Western powers,

especially the United States, against "others.“

• The first conflict(s) will be between the West and

several Islamic-Confucian states.

• Samuel Huntington made these arguments in the

article “The Clash of Civilizations (1993).”

American Military Power

• The main reasons for the US to maintain

such a high military expenditure are:

US commitments on a global basis. US military

forces must be able to project power to regions

located thousands of miles away.

US forces require high technology in order to

defeat its enemies with limited casualties.

US maintains a much more expensive all-

volunteer force.

• Foreign policies are the strategies

governments use to guide their actions in

the international arena.

Spell out the objectives state leaders

have decided to pursue in a given

relationship or situation.

Foreign policy process: How policies

are arrived at and implemented.

Making Foreign Policy (1)

• Comparative foreign policy.

Study of foreign policy in various states

in order to discover whether similar

types of societies or governments

consistently have similar types of foreign

policies.

• Foreign policy outcomes result from

multiple forces at various levels of

analysis.

Making Foreign Policy (2)

• Range of views on foreign policy issues

held by the citizens of a state.

• Has a greater influence on foreign policy in

democracies than in authoritarian

governments.

Legitimacy

Propaganda

Journalists as gatekeepers

Public Influences Policy (1)

• In democracies, public opinion generally

has less effect on foreign policy than on

domestic policy.

Attentive public

Foreign policy elite

Rally ’round the flag syndrome

Diversionary foreign policy

Public Influences Policy (2)

• Conduit through which interest groups and

public opinion can wield influence.

Presidential systems; separate elections.

Legislatures play a direct role in making

foreign policy.

Different rules apply, however, to the use

of military force.

–Rally ’round the flag.

–May challenge the president if they have

power of the “purse.”

Legislatures (1)

• Parliamentary systems; political parties are

dominant

Often parliamentary executives do not need

to submit treaties or policies for formal

approval by the legislature.

Call elections; new executive

Legislatures play a key role in designing

and implementing foreign policy.

Legislatures (2)