In the times when empires dominated the world political arena, the influence of a state in its foreign policy was based on its military, and consequently colonial, power. This has been the case for several thousand decades, from the first Akkadian empire in world history in the year 3000 B.C. to the period of decolonization, humanization and democratization of states at the end of the first half of the
Now the era of achievement of state interests by open conquest is gone, to be replaced by a new era in which the world domination of the state is consolidated through the imposition of its ideology and values to another state. And to consolidate these values, the State, which claims to world domination, does not disdain to force other countries into economic servitude to itself. But open armed conflicts have not disappeared in the 21st century, since many states are still willing to resort to a harsher alternative when soft power is ineffective.
This model is particularly evident in the current foreign policy activities of the United States. After the end of the so-called “cold war,” some political scientists (Zbigniew Brzezinski, for instance) started to talk about the end of the bipolar world and the rise of a new unipolar world with America at its head. The concept of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security advisor to the 39th president of the United States, sees the whole civilized world, by which he means the whole of Eurasia, as “the great chessboard”, with the United States as the grandmaster of this game.
In addition to the challenger countries that pose a threat to America’s illusory hegemony, there are also rogue countries. Their existence is officially acknowledged, for example, their characteristics are spelled out in the U.S. National Security Strategy of 2002. Namely, from a formal point of view, they include states that have the following qualities:
Abuse their own people and plunder national resources for the personal benefit of their rulers;
Show no respect for international law, threaten their neighbors and grossly violate the international treaties to which they are party;
Are determined to acquire weapons of mass destruction along with other advanced military technologies to be used as threats or offensively to achieve the aggressive designs of these regimes;
Sponsor terrorism around the world;
reject basic human values and hate the United States and everything it stands for
As can be understood from the above, these conditions are not only framework conditions, but they are also quite subjective.
This is necessary, first of all, so that the U.S. can hyperbolize any slightest excuse. Secondly, it is needed to formally justify any retaliatory measures against a rogue state. In reality, such “rogue” status is granted to countries that in any way oppose the international agenda of the U.S. to impose its interests.
Now we should pay attention directly to the very tools of foreign policy pressure on the world stage by the United States. Summarizing all American means of influence in the twentieth and twenty-first century on other states, we can distinguish the following categories.
Geostrategic. First of all, they include signing international treaties (like SENTO), creating controlled international organizations that put pressure on the opponent countries (like NATO), participation in different summits and congresses (like G7). This can also include the adoption of symbolic decisions, but without losing their strategic importance.
Financial and economic. Here we can recall the post-war Marshall Plan, which implied a comprehensive economic aid to the so-called Western countries, in exchange for which America achieved its political interests (for example, prohibiting left-wing forces from taking power in exchange for financial support). Later the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aimed at “economic aid” to foreign countries, was formed.
Cultural-ideological. This group includes the well-known and imposed American mass culture, which promotes and seeks to consolidate in the consciousness of society pro-Western values in order to further use it in the course of their manipulations. In 2017, for example, American pop culture films took up almost half (45%) of the European film consumption market.
Military influence. If soft power does not work, one must resort to hard power. It is worth noting that the United States of America always seeks to minimize the likelihood of an open armed confrontation between its troops and any rival on the world stage that poses even the slightest threat to them. Therefore, they resort to indirect, indirect methods of harsh impact on hostile countries.
At the moment the United States of America is one of the most powerful powers on the world political stage. Many factors have contributed to cementing such a status, from economic imposition of its agenda on satellite countries to military interventions. The United States pursues a policy of cold-blooded pragmatism in all its endeavors. They are willing to overstep international agreements and their own principles in order to achieve their desired interests.