Should the U.S. continue to act as a policeman for other countries?

 

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has become the sole global superpower. A consequence has been that it has become the most dominant nation in the world, essentially dictating policy to other countries while at the same time functioning as hegemon in various regions including the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America, and Europe, and being highly influential in the rest (Cossa et al. 5). Therefore, the United States, no matter its position in these regions, has inevitably become and remains the most powerful nation, both militarily and economically, in the world, and has utilized this leverage as a means of having its way. This paper seeks to determine whether the United States should continue to act as a policeman for other countries or whether it should withdraw from this role.

The rise to sole dominance by the United States was seen as a seminal event because it was considered by some scholars as the end of history. There was the belief that it would ensure that there was the promotion of peace and democracy across the world and would create an environment within which it was possible for all nations to live harmoniously together (Lazar and Lazar 321). However, this turned out not to be the case because the predictions that were made concerning global peace under American hegemony did not turn out as expected. This has come to be blamed on the United States’ reluctance to take on its responsibilities as the global hegemon. The failure to consider that the United States has actually done the best that it can has created an environment where it is essentially blamed for the collapse of peace in some parts of the world. There needs to be a contemplation of the manner through which the United States has contributed to global stability in the face of numerous challenges.

One of the most important points that can be made concerning the United States as a global policeman is that no nation has been able to muster the power that it possesses to uphold international law. The United States plays an extremely important role when it comes to the enforcement of international law across the world and it is because of this role that it has been able to make sure that it promotes relative stability in almost all the regions in the world (Etzioni 3). It is noteworthy that the military and economic activities of the United States have allowed it to have leverage over a diversity of nations and groups, with the result being that its presence on the global stage as policeman has essentially kept the world from falling into violence and chaos. It has further allowed for the promotion of a scenario where there is a level of deterrence against belligerent powers.

However, there have been arguments that the United States should only focus on safeguarding its own security and interests. This is especially the case when it comes to the way that it spends billions of dollars in undertaking its foreign policy responsibilities. This money could be better used to settle the diversity of problems that it has domestically and result in a scenario where Americans are better off. Other countries in the world should be allowed to take on the role of policeman, even regionally, because the United States cannot do it all. Instead, because of the overreliance on the United States, the result has been chaos, as seen through the way that strong governance at a global level still does not exist over a quarter a century since the rise of the United States as the sole superpower (Huddleston 4; Vörös 3). Therefore, the United States should pull back and give other nations the opportunity to take on more responsibilities at a global level.

The United States is a necessary part of the global security structure and is therefore best suited to being the global policeman. It is not only the most powerful nation militarily and economically, it is also the most influential country in the world. It has military facilities in a diversity of countries across many regions, which allows for the easy projection of power. Moreover, because it has the capability of maintaining such a large military and has the economic capability to impose sanctions on any country in the world, the United States is best placed to be the global policeman. This is a capability that no other country in the world possesses, which gives the United States the leverage it needs to ensure that it not only promotes its interests, but also secures the rest of the world against threats that might arise.

The United States is the nation best placed to act as the policeman for other countries. It not only has the best capabilities militarily, but it also the world’s largest economy. Furthermore, the leverage that it has over other nations based on strong diplomatic relations has allowed the United States to ensure that it not only achieves the goal of promoting global peace through the projection of power, but it has also ensured that there is the promotion of greater global cooperation. In the process, the United States, as the global hegemon, has been able to preside over a period of considerable global peace that has made it possible for global economic and regional integration to become a reality; greatly benefiting the peoples of the world.