Student Number: 209582305
The U.S is well known in the international community for compromising the sovereignty of states by means of foreign intervention. Events like the riots in Venezuela and the Taliban rising to power in Afghanistan are both symptoms of U.S intervention in foreign affairs outside of its own borders. These intervention efforts are often portrayed as a fight for democratic values but historical events will show us that in fact U.S foreign intervention has been fueled by ulterior motives that often result in in state failure and collective violence. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the consequences of U.S hegemony for states, like Afghanistan, that have been used as a linchpin for the …show more content…
Previously colonized by the British, Afghanistan became independent in 1919. Nonetheless, despite having an agriculture sector, Afghanistan has always had a high dependency on foreign powers for income and state revenue. 50% of the source of state income came from foreign aid from countries like the U.S. Afghanistan entered into the realm of international relations during the proxy wars between the powers in the Western Bloc(the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union). This war was an ideological war and it was ideas of free-market capitalism which formed the basis of American policy toward the Soviet Union. Afghanistan become important in this “game” because of the creation of a “sanitary belt” by the U.S around the USSR in order to restrict its expansion. The U.S implemented a intervention policy that would support Afghanistan resistance against the soviets and funded covert operations that provided weaponry and money to the rebel groups like the Mujahidin lead by Osama Bin Laden. Consequently, the USSR never gained full control of Afghanistan. In 1989 the USSR pulled its troops out of Afghanistan. In 1991 the last troops of the U.S troops left and the U.S no longer supported projected aimed at rebuilding Afghanistan through foreign aid. Once the last troops left, was a vacuum of power …show more content…
Embedded liberalism was a thoughtful strategy that was used by the American government. It was based on the idea that global stability could be attained by creating a liberal, democratic, free market system in the global economy. The Marshall Plan was used to help rebuild, integrate states and stabilize states according to the American order. This was not just an economic plan, but it also entailed a particular kind of political system. This involved embedding liberalism within the government apparatus of states. If the “ New Silk Road” bears any resemblance to the Marshall plan, then it would be no surprise if it were achieved by undermining state sovereignty and leverage over policy decisions since it was this very tactic that the U.S deployed; to undermine recipient countries of the power of formulating their own economic policies ( cite cox). The Marshall plan was also used to usher in laissez-faire economic policies to safeguard the U.S. economic