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Political Ideologies - Theory and
Practice
The debate on the street often boils down to conservatism vs. liberalism. The reality is far more complex and those subscribing blindly to either side may want to stop and ponder...
- Realism
'For a realist, the question is whether any foreign policy will increase American power or decrease it". This is in contrast to other strands of thought such as those of liberals or the much maligned neoconservatives, who are less concerned about the effects of US policy on national security, than they are on the effects of policy on remaking the world in their own image. Realists tend to look beyond ideology and base their judgement on the national interest.
- Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy - A coalition of scholars, policy analysts and public figures who are working for a shift in America's foreign policy away from runaway imperialism.
- Foreign Policy Elites Hate Bush's War - Discussion by Goldsborough on the recognition by realists that wars of choice (America's Vietnam, the Soviet Union's Afghanistan) tend to weaken the nations waging war.
- Liberalism
A foreign policy advocated by liberals would have significant overlap with that of the neocons, except liberals would want to work as part of multilateral institutions. Since the 2003 Iraq war, an increasing number of voices has tended towards a liberal foreign policy. However, it is doubtful that such a policy would benefit the US. It would likely mean less isolation and anti-Americanism, but an increasing number of entanglements and inaction that a multilateral approach brings, if multilaterlism is the goal, not the means. As in the case of neoconservatism, liberalism fails to weigh the cost of foreign interventions that have dubious national security value.
- Neoconservatism
The neocons need little introduction nowadays...
- Project for the New American Century (PNAC) - The leading voice of the neocons.
- Empire Builders: Neoconservatives and their Blueprint for US Power - A Christian Science Monitor Special on leading figures in the neocon movement, and their ideology.
- Not a conservative vs. liberal issue - San Diego Union Tribune's James Goldborough: "In being co-opted by neoconservatives, the Bush administration's agenda has become anti-conservative... Bush has sought to confuse conservative and neoconservative values, but they are not the same."
- Neo-con Ideology, Not Big Oil, Pushed For War - Jim Lobe (Asia Times, August 2004) suggests that it was the neo-con ideology far more than commercial oil interests that goaded America into war. Lobe reviews the book "America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order" by Halper and Clarke, and concludes that the neo-con mindset is rooted in the Holocaust and the failure of the international institutions and community to stop it in time. According to Lobe, the neo-cons want America to stay militarily engaged around the world to prevent a repeat of the Holocaust. But is it really valid to look at the entire 21st century world through the filters of the Holocaust? One thing is clear, the neo-cons wield immense power in the US foreign policy apparatus at least until December 2004, and the US strategy will continue to be driven by their ideology without sufficient debate, unless there is a change in the administration.
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