American Geopolitical Interest Essay -- Politics International United

A Game of StrategyMark Twain once defined the term, sphere of influence to be, A courteous modern invent which means robbing your livefor your neighbors benefit. Like Twain,many claim that economic interests postulate caused America to rob its Southern neighbors andact in a self-interest manner. Others claim that the ideological conviction that Americaaltruistically acts according to its neighbors benefit has strongly influenced Americasinternational behavior. However, America, possessing a huge GDP at its disposal, a stronggovernment, and a jingoistic society realized that these assets alone could not guarantee thenations survival. It must be able to ensure national security as strong as protect its interestsabroad. Although it is true that ideology, economic welfare, as well as domestic politics allhave played a significant role in U.S. foreign policy, the fundamental factor that hasgoverned American foreign policy has been geopolitical objectives.The Monroe Doctrine, contriv ed by President Monroe in 1823, is a lucid example ofAmericas pursuit of geopolitical interests in the Pan-American region. The Doctrine was anaudacious declaration to the powerful European nations to come to an end from the region. Itfollowed the spirit of Manifest Destiny, the rousing conviction that Americans had the rightto take for granted the territory surrounding them. According to Coerver and Hall, the essentialprinciple that this Doctrine was base upon was the conviction that the United realms wasdestined to expand(13). The authors proceed to remark of the State Departments concernthat Spains loss of its empire may yield to other European powers taking over various areasof Latin America, especially the prospect of Br... ...icy in the region. Through the analysis of the Monroe Doctrine, the RooseveltCorollary, the importance of the waterman Canal, and a host of other examples, one canperceive the large importance America imposes on its national security interests. Ev en tothis day, geopolitical concerns dominate American foreign policy. This time, however, LatinAmerica goes unobserved as the United States proceeds to pursue its new strategic interestsin the diaphragm East.Works Cited1. Coerver, David and Linda Hall. T a ngled Destinies . Albuquerque U of New Mexico P,1999.2. LaRosa, Michael and Frank O. Mora eds. N e ighborly Adversaries Readings in U.S. -Latin American Relations . Oxford Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1999.3. Brockett, Charles. An Illusion of Omnipotence U.S. policy Toward Guatemala 1954-1960. Latin American Politics and Society, 2002.