Effect of Us Foreign Policy

• Academic level: Masters
• Type: Research paper
• Subject: Political science
• Topic: Effects of US Foreign Policy in Central America
• Style: APA
• Number of pages: 6 pages/double spaced (1650 words)
• PowerPoint slides: 0
• Additional: None
• Number of source/references: 6
• Include: Abstract page

Effects of US Foreign Policy in Central America

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Effects of US Foreign Policy in Central America

Abstract

The United States is a nation that is known to have many foreign policies that are meant to govern its relationship with other states. The policies they set have both long term and short-term effects on the countries on which they are employed. The United States foreign policy is drafted by the Congress, the President, and the people. The foreign policies are created to promote idealism, national security, and economics. This paper will be addressing the effects of these polices in Central America. Policies such as immigration and security are some of the common policies that have been applied in the Central American countries and their effects are evident since the start and end of the Cold War, and even today. The United States’ main reason for using these policies in these nations was to promote economic growth, and fight against nationalism. Other effects will be discussed in details in this research paper.

Key Words: National security, Idealism, Nationalism, Immigration, Policies.

In the United States’ history, the country has been constant with the interests of the nation by taking many steps in foreign policy. These steps have resulted to both long-term and immediate results. Foreign policy refers to the policy in the United States that defines how the country deals with other nations both politically and economically. The policy is made by the people, the president, and the Congress. Some of the reasons why the United States has created this foreign policy is to promote national security, idealism, and economics. This paper will be discussing this policy, and the effects it has had on Central America.

The 1964 Vietnam war and the entry of the U.S into the First World War in 1917 had a major impact on the country (Bedolla, 2017). Therefore, the main objective of this policy was to put an end to communism and start democracies at the same time. The war ended when the United States troops withdrew from Vietnam since their foreign policy had failed here. The attitude of the United States towards the Latin American countries had similar concerns. Their policies towards the immigrants from the Central America were based on how they felt about allowing immigrants into their country, whether it would weaken or strengthen the anti-communists forces in those nations.

The Cold War was a tough time for many countries around the world. The conclusion of the World War I saw ideological differences emerge such as free market, capitalists, and the communists. Russian and the United States also emerged as Superpowers, and they clashed over ideological differences. These differences in the Cold War battlefront in Latin America and those in Europe and the United States created the subject of Latin America Cold War. The revolutions that were fought in Central and Southern America were as a result of power imbalance, and lack of resources.

 The United States government implemented foreign policies in different countries that would help one side or the other. The United did this with the aim of trying to preserve hegemony in this part of the world that it had controlled since the beginning of the 19th century. In regards to this matter, the U.S foreign policy was simple in that it would be able to control Central America as much as possible, which would prevent the spread of communism in those areas. The Cold War in Central America occurred as a result of social, political, and economic clashes between them and the United States ((Bedolla, 2017).  Many partisan groups that had risen in Central America during the Cold War mainly revolved around nationalistic tendencies, which were highly characterized by a strong dislike for the United States. If the United States had not been economically and politically involved in these countries, the conflicts witnessed here would not have escalated so far.

The United States can be blamed for the travesties that occurred in these countries during the Cold War. However, its presence in those countries inflamed the aggravations that the indigenous people felt regarding their political and social situations (Bedolla, 2017). The US foreign policies did not play any role in violence eruption in these countries during the Cold War. Despite all these, the United States came up with a foreign policy that was complicit with the political turmoil that was being experienced in Central America. This was done through two principle means, which helped in aiding the unrest that might have resulted in a civil war within the countries in South and Central America during this period. The foreign policies devised by the United States were meant to undermine the efforts being made by the nationalist governments.

 One of the most outstanding one was the one applied in Cuba following the formation of the Cuban Revolution by Fidel Castro. The United States tried to deter the native governments in these countries by providing the civilians with what their governments had promised to give such as economic-based resources like land. The Alliance for Progress policy, for example, was created to fuel opposition to the nationalist governments, by meeting the people’s needs that were the government’s responsibility. However, these measures failed due to the United States ignorance of the Central American culture, traditions, and lack of integration. The political environment in these nations became provocative.

The United States also used a significantly direct method to institute foreign policy, to deal with the violent climate and instability that had intensified in Central America during the Cold War. The United States supplied weapons and trained insurgent groups that were meant to oppose the nationalist governments in different countries. In most cases, the United States was in full support of dictator leaders. A good example was Fulgencio Batista of Cuba and Rafael Trujillo of Dominican Republic. On the other hand, they also supported the left wing insurgents too, and it is also being witnessed today, (Lakhani, June 13, 2017). The outcome and effects of such support were predictable. They resulted in Retaliatory measures from both sides which led to the outbreak of violence and loss of many lives in these countries where the United States had shown interest. This kind of foreign influence shaped the factionalism that existed within and between countries and increased the intensity of the Civil War in Central America.