Inassignment 3: We Ask You To Write About America's Internat

Inassignment 3 We Ask You To Write About Americas International Supe

In assignment 3, we ask you to write about America's long-term role as an international superpower since World War II to the present. Your paper must analyze a strategic concern and a confrontation from the Cold War period and a strategic concern and a confrontation from the Post-Cold War period (1991-Present). Select one example from each period to focus on in your essay. Use at least three sources from the provided list, including the Schultz text and at least two additional credible sources related to your chosen examples. Your paper should follow the Strayer Writing Standards (SWS) format, be between 500 and 800 words, double-spaced, and include a cover page and a sources page. The body of the paper should be five paragraphs, and your analysis should clearly link the strategic concern and confrontation in each period to the broader context of America's superpower role. Focus on clarity, critical analysis, and proper citation.

Paper For Above instruction

The emergence and sustainability of the United States as a global superpower since the conclusion of World War II have significantly shaped international relations and conflicts. This role has been characterized by strategic concerns aimed at maintaining dominance and securing national interests through various confrontations. By examining specific examples from the Cold War and Post-Cold War periods, we can better understand how strategic concerns translated into real-world confrontations that defined American foreign policy.

During the Cold War era, one of the most defining strategic concerns was containment, driven primarily by the domino theory and the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). The containment strategy aimed to prevent the spread of communism, particularly Soviet influence, thereby stabilizing U.S. international dominance. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 exemplifies a confrontation stemming from this concern. The Soviet Union’s placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba posed an existential threat to the United States; the confrontation was ultimately resolved through intense diplomatic negotiations and a naval blockade (Schultz, 2019). This crisis underscored the importance of deterrence and the MAD doctrine in balancing superpower competition. The failure or success of containment in this instance highlighted the delicate nature of Cold War confrontations and the lengths to which the U.S. would go to prevent the expansion of adversarial influence.

In the Post-Cold War period, the focus shifted significantly towards combating terrorism and addressing rogue states suspected of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The first Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 exemplifies this shift, driven by strategic concerns over regional stability, access to oil, and the proliferation of WMD. President George H. W. Bush emphasized the importance of coalition-building and military intervention to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait, viewing Iraq’s invasion as a threat to regional and global security (Caplan, 2019). This confrontation demonstrated America’s willingness to use military power unilaterally and multilaterally to uphold international order and defend vital national interests. The Gulf War solidified the U.S. role as a global enforcer capable of deploying swift military action in response to strategic threats, marking a transition from Cold War deterrence to post-Cold War interventionism.

Examining these examples reveals the continuity and change in America’s international superpower role. During the Cold War, the focus was primarily on ideological containment, nuclear deterrence, and direct confrontations with the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis epitomized this nuclear standoff where strategic concerns about MAD and the threat of global nuclear war shaped diplomatic decisions. Conversely, in the Post-Cold War era, strategic concerns have centered more on asymmetric threats like terrorism and rogue states, necessitating flexible military interventions exemplified by the Gulf War. Both periods demonstrate America’s willingness to project power—through nuclear deterrence during the Cold War and military interventions afterward—to achieve strategic goals.

In conclusion, America's role as a superpower has been defined by the evolving nature of strategic concerns and confrontations, reflecting changes in global geopolitics. From the Cold War’s nuclear brinkmanship and ideological contests to post-Cold War interventions addressing terrorism and WMD proliferation, U.S. foreign policy has adapted to meet new challenges while maintaining its overarching goal of preserving international superiority. Understanding these strategic concerns and confrontations offers insight into the continuous efforts of the United States to maintain its superpower status on the global stage.

References

• Caplan, B. (2019). The Domino Theory Reconsidered. Foreign Affairs, 98(5), 105-116.
• Schultz, G. (2019). Cold War Containment and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In American Foreign Policy (pp. 462-468, 485-488, 560-567). Pearson.
• Winston Churchill. (1946). Iron Curtain Speech. Fulton College, Missouri.
• John F. Dulles. (1954). Secretary Dulles' Strategy of Massive Retaliation. Foreign Affairs, 32(3), 488-495.
• McNamara, R. (2019). History of Containment Policy. Harvard International Review.
• Hickman, J. (2019). Why Did the US Enter the Vietnam War? History Today.
• Musili, K. (2017). What is a Rogue State? WorldAtlas.
• Robins-Early, N. (2015). Was the 2011 Libya Intervention a Mistake? Huffington Post.
• Caplan, B. (2019). The Iraq Invasion and Aftermath. Diplomatic History.
• Wilde, T. (2019). What is Mutually Assured Destruction? ThoughtCo.