Post Cold War example essay topic

288 words
This article examines the post Cold War political landscape in America, and explains the various points of view of the government and public attitude. As experienced after other shocking events such as the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Vietnam war, political ideology becomes divided between internationalists, who believe in multilateral cooperation and effective international organizations and isolationists who are against international involvement, thus "at the water's edge". The interesting aspect of this study to me, since it was obviously written prior to our current war on terrorism and the situation in Iraq, is the relevance of these diverse ideologies in today's debate of America's role in international affairs. Much like the positions after the Cold War, there are those who believe we should focus on domestic issues, and those who think we must act as the police for the world. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, it became clear to the Bush Administration, and subsequently to the American public, that is was imperative for the United States to lead the world against a common terrorist enemy. This effort gained universal, bipartisan support and resulted in social and financial commitments from world leaders and their constituencies.

It could be argued that too much emphasis was directed to the war on terrorism, as in the invasion of Iraq in the name of national security, however, the same arguments and political leverage were used to facilitate action as by FDR in World War II and LBJ in the Vietnam war. I believe that there will always be those isolationists, the world is becoming smaller and more connected, requiring coordination and collaboration of countries to work for a common good for all.