Thursday, January 22, 2009

Agents of Foreign Policy

The factors influencing US foreign policy are more complicated than any single purely ideological analysis takes into account. These are ten that I have personally identified:

Money Men - Those who see US Foreign policy as a way of extending their individual business interests throughout the globe.

Children of Democracy - Those who feel that that the US has an ideological mission to spread democracy.

Gamers - Those who see US Foreign Politics as a game of good against evil that must be won at all costs by the forces of good.

Stabilizers - Those who feel that US foreign policy should work at all cost to stabilize the world and ensure 'peace'.

Christian Elite - Group that argues that US politics must act to prevent the spread of such anti-Christian ideologies as Islam and Communism.

Single Power Proliferaters - Those who believe that the US has no allies at all and should operate covertly or in any way possible to prevent the emergence of a legitimate competitor to American hegemony.

Single Enemies of Choice - Group that are obsessed in stopping the actions of one power in particular. This power could be: China, Russia, the Moslem World etc.

Namesakers - Individuals who see foreign policy as a stage for making a name for themselves. They are motivated by nothing else.

Cold Warriors - Those who are still nostalgic for the Cold War and wish to recreate the period in some form or another again in the near future.

Competitor groups - opposing factions in the US, who are not necessarily ideologically driven, but see Foreign Policy as a vehicle or stage to ensure their individual group influence and strike a blow against their competitor faction.

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