As it is known, the task of the police force is to keep order in the territory entrusted to them. But what if this territory is the entire planet? Where are the law enforcement officers who have an international mandate for peacekeeping in any area? Officially, such a structure is the UN. However, individual states, namely the United States, are constantly trying to position themselves as the world police using a variety of means - from electronic surveillance to military interventions. This paper aims to discuss the role of the United States as a policeman of the world and its historical manifestations.
The end of the Civil War and the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln significantly contributed to the establishment of the underlying principles American foreign policy continues to follow nowadays and wants to get across to the world: freedom, democracy, equal rights, and justice. For the last five years, the United States has participated in several international events involving the US military that proved the commitment to the country’s values. For instance, one can consider the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute. The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute is the conflict between China and Japan regarding the ownership of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Since 1895, the Islands have been under the control of Japan, but from 1945 to 1972, they were administrated by the United States. With the end of the American administration, China claimed that the Islands have historically been the part of the Chinese territory and started the territorial dispute. The United States has always supported the position of Japan proclaiming that the conflict should be reconciled by peaceful means but having military conflicts with Chinese Navy. In the opinion of the U.S., China intervened the Islands, as they belonged to Japan by law. As the result, the U.S. should act as a judge and contribute to the peace in the region. Another bright example is overthrowing of Al Gaddafi. Gaddafi was a Libyan dictator, and the official reason for the American intervention was his political regime that oppressed the population of Libya. Gaddafi was considered to be a terrorist that the U.S. should deal with (Bacevich, 2016, p. 335). As the result, America started the “Odyssey Dawn,” the operation that overthrew Gaddafi’s regime. The American troops played a supportive role, but it was the USA that had begun the campaign against Gaddafi and had developed the plan. Finally, one should note the fight against ISIS and the deployment of troops in the Middle East. According to American plan, Northern Iraq should have been the first line of defense against ISIS, and the American influence in the Middle East should be supported by the new military bases in the region.
Since 1895 and till the beginning of the Second World War, the U.S. international policies had led the rise of the country as a world super power police force. The bright examples of the rising include the victory in the 1898 Spanish-American war, the improvement and dynamism of US economy 1898-1918, and the policy and actions of Theodore Roosevelt and his focus on diplomacy as of 1900. The annexation of Hawaii and the 1898 Treaty with Spain that granted the U.S. Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam led to the beginning of “American imperialism” that was successfully followed by Theodore Roosevelt. As Conlin writes, Roosevelt became “the perfect president of the new century” due to his dedication to the country and the new middle class that led to the strengthening of the American economy (Conlin, 2009, p. 549). However, despite the fact his domestic and foreign policies were based on democracy and decisive approach, they were supported by the American army. One can understand it through the example of Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy that proclaimed, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” The Presidency of Roosevelt marked the beginnings of the U.S. as the world super power police force in Latin America. Within the next century, it would spread for the whole world.
Since the end of the Second World War, the United States of America has taken on a policing role. The examples of this can be found in such historical events as Participation of the U.S. in the 1950 Korean conflict, 1995 Bombing of Yugoslavia, and US intervention in Iraq. The 1950 Korean conflict took place in the days of Cold War and, thus, is often considered to be a proxy war the United States and the Soviet Union with China led against each other. After the Second World War, the USA and USSR temporarily divided Korea into two parts to free it from Japanese troops. As the result, the new countries required two administrations that became too different to one another, and when Soviet and American troops were withdrawn, the new leaders could not arrange with each other. At the same time, they cannot accept the divided country, and each of them wanted to gain control over another with the use of military forces. During the conflict, the United States sided with South Korea, provided it weapons, and led military actions, for instance, as Finn writes, the crucial role in the conflict was played by the US Navy (Finn, 2014, p. 295). The 1950 Korean events allowed Americans to test the new weaponry and to prove their superiority over the Soviet Union and their position as the world superpower. The USA wanted to prove the same in the 1995 Bombing of Yugoslavia. In 1995, NATO and UNPROFOR started operation “Deliberate Force,” which aimed to decrease the military potential of the Bosnian Serb Army that had attacked protected by UN areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to Millett et al., the decision of NATO involved America into the war and brought its end (Millett et al., 2012, p. 590). Clinton conceded that American military power was the only tool able to stop the Serbs. In other words, US military forces were weapons that allowed Americans to be the policeman of the world. And this is the case: military power of the country was the basis of the US intervention in Iraq. One can consider the operation “Desert Storm” that took place in 1991 and marked the complete success of American army. According to Bacevich, it became “the birth of a new American century – the oncet of a unipolar world, with America at the center of it” (Bacevich, 2016, p. 311). The American military power was also used during the “War on Terror” and the fight with ISIS in Syria.
As far as the world conflicts cannot just easily stop, the USA decided to secure its position and to demonstrate it at the same time with the establishment of the military block and treaties and conventions with other countries. In 1949, the country formed the military-political bloc NATO that aimed to secure Europe from the influence of Soviet Union and changed the world geopolitics. It was a part of the Cold War and granted the U.S. alliance with the countries that joined NATO. Furthermore, one should consider the U.S. and Japan Treaty of cooperation and security signed in 1960 and granted the U.S. power to act for the peace in East Asia. As the result, Americans established in Japan the U.S. military bases and brought the “elite” status of an American soldier in Japan. Basically, the treaty continued the American occupation of Japan. The Arms Race led to the Manhattan project and the development of the first nuclear bomb that definitely granted the U.S. the title of the most powerful country in the world.
The role of the USA as the policeman of the world has roots deep in the history of the country and its values. The desire to spread the democracy, justice, and equal rights cannot be named negative, but sometimes the US seems to act too active and always supports its actions with its military power, obviously or indirectly. Having power is a good deal, but it should be sufficient.
References
Bacevich, A. (2016). America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History. New York: Random House.
Finn, T. (2014). America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts from Lexington to Afghanistan. New York: Berkley Caliber.
Millett, A., Maslowski, P. & Feis, W. (2012). For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States from 1607 to 2012. New York: Free Press.
Conlin, J. R. (2009). The American Past: A Survey of American History, Volume II: Since 1865. Boston: Cengage Learning.
