NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Programme: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS DEGREE IN

INFORMATICS

Name: TITSVALO MUZAMANI N0171834Y

TARIRO MURURAMI N0172876P

TENDAI MAZVIDZA N0174528F

IRVINE MANDEYA N0171082D (PARALLEL)

MUNASHE MUGOCHA N0171550X

JOSEPH MUDZVITI N0173074M

AKIM NYONI N0172359H

JOHN DEMBAREMBA N0173069K

BARRY BARXE NDLOVU N01523559E

Lecturer: Mr. S NGWENYA

Discuss the concept, purpose and functions of international policy with reference to USA.
[25]

Definition

International policy is “the goals that a state’s officials seek to attain abroad, the values that
give rise to those objectives, and the means or instruments used to pursue them” (Eugene et-al,
2007). International Policy also known as foreign Policy is a well-rounded, comprehensive
plan, based on knowledge and experience, for conducting the business of government with the
rest of the world. It is aimed at promoting and protecting the interests of the nation. This calls
for a clear understanding of what, whose interests are and how far we can help to go with the
means at our disposal. Anything less than this falls short of being a national foreign policy
(Gibson, 1944).

Concept

The foreign policy of the United States of America is conditioned by its history, geography,
social and economic system, economic military capability and the international environment
(Atela et al, 2016). As in the case of all other countries, the United States foreign policy is
guided by its national interest, and is largely influenced by the views and policies of leadership.
It is only leadership which keeps changing more often than any other factor. It is expected that
the foreign policy would also change accordingly but that does not happen. National interest is
the primary concern for any foreign policy decision marker. Therefore, generally there is not
much change in the U.S. foreign policy until a revolutionary change occurs in the international
scenario

While the goals of a nation’s foreign policy are always open to debate and revision, there are
nonetheless four main goals to which we can attribute much of what the U.S. government does
in the foreign policy realm:

• The protection of the U.S. and its citizens,

• The maintenance of access to key resources and markets,
• The preservation of a balance of power in the world, and
• The protection of human rights and democracy.

The first goal is the protection of the United States and the lives of it citizens, both while they
are in the United States and when they travel abroad. Related to this security goal is the aim of
protecting the country’s allies, or countries with which the United States is friendly and
mutually supportive. In the international sphere, threats and dangers can take several forms,
including military threats from other nations or terrorist groups and economic threats from
boycotts and high tariffs on trade.

The second main goal of U.S. foreign policy is to ensure the nation maintains access to key
resources and markets across the world. Resources include natural resources, such as oil, and
economic resources, including the infusion of foreign capital investment for U.S. domestic
infrastructure projects like buildings, bridges, and weapons systems. U.S. foreign policy also
seeks to advance the interests of U.S. business, to both sell domestic products in the
international marketplace and support general economic development around the globe
(especially in developing countries)

A third main goal is the preservation of a balance of power in the world. A balance of power
means no one nation or region is much more powerful militarily than are the countries of the
rest of the world. The achievement of a perfect balance of power is probably not possible, but
general stability, or predictability in the operation of governments, strong institutions, and the
absence of violence within and between nations may be.

The fourth main goal of U.S. foreign policy is the protection of human rights and democracy.
The payoff of stability that comes from other U.S. foreign policy goals is peace and tranquillity.
While certainly looking out for its own strategic interests in considering foreign policy strategy,
the United States nonetheless attempts to support international peace through many aspects of
its foreign policy, such as foreign aid, and through its support of and participation in
international organizations such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), and the Organization of American States.

Purpose

International policy derive directly from president’s charge to make the world safer and better,
and the secretary’s guidance to use America’s diplomatic power to help foreign citizens better
their own lives, build their own nations, and transform their own futures (Fraser, 2006).

The purpose of a foreign policy is mainly to provide a set of guidelines to govern how one state
interact with the whole world in terms of procedures to be followed as well the terms and
condition of its foreign relations.

Foreign policy provides guidelines on how a nation conducts its activities in some cases to
influence the behaviour of other states as well adjust their own activities to the international
environment. For example the USA adjusts the way they interact with an African State like
Zimbabwe by imposing economic sanctions on the nation in order to adjust the state’s
behaviour in terms of human rights aspects. The idea is to push the foreign governments to
change their ways by adjusting the way they interact with the government in question altogether
to apply some sort of pressure on them in the pursuit of better livelihoods of the people in the
countries affected.

The other purpose of the foreign policy mainly is to spread political freedom throughout the
world. In the case of the USA their foreign policy is to create safe political spaces in the
countries they deal with. For example in countries where the political space is not free and fair
they also make use of observers mainly before, during and after the elections in that country.
These observers then report back to the USA and they reports they give will determine how the
USA will interact with the government that would have won the elections. If the space was free
and fair the USA will positively interact with that government for the further development of
the nation whilst if the political space was marred by violence, deception and rigging the USA
will respond with sanctions and other guidelines to push the governments into order.

Another purpose of the foreign policy is to expand economic opportunity and growth of the
nations in question. In relation to the USA and for example African countries they aim to try
as much as possible to offer assistance in the development of the African countries. They do
this inform of the foreign aid they give to nations in form of financial loans which the countries
can use to develop their countries. They then audit these funds to ensure if they are used for
the betterment of the economy and the local population at large. The result is then used as a
basis for whether the country should get any further financial assistance in the future or not.

The other purpose of the foreign policy is to protect own citizen and advance their self-interests.
In the case of the USA much focus is in the safety of their country and its citizens against issues
like terrorism, drug trafficking, war, crime and weapons of mass destruction. In this case they
protect themselves by fighting terrorist as well tightening their borders and giving harsh
punishments on drug related crimes. They also join together with other powerful nations at the
UN to enforce laws that control the access and ownership of weapons of mass destruction for
example nuclear acts.

Functions

Realism (and neo-realism)

According to the realist perspective, States (and human beings) are selfish and egoistic entities
that strive for supremacy and can only live in peace if there is a superior power dictating the
rules (Leviathan).Neo -realism has been portrayed as an attempt to systematize the insights of
classical realism in order to put them on a more solid theoretical foundation. One of the most
widely accepted observations about the American political experience is the dominance
liberalism as the framework of American discourse

Liberalism (and neo-liberalism)

The first steps of neoliberalism were made during the presidency of Ronald Reagan during the
1980s. His change of political direction gave way to the birth and quick development of
neoliberalism in America

According to the liberal (or ideal) perspective, interactions among states can lead to peaceful
cooperation. One of the most widely accepted observations about the American political
experience is the dominance liberalism as the framework of American discourse. Smith states
that there is yet another, more hidden part of the US American foreign agenda, namely the
spreading of neoliberalism. The forces that lay behind this new ideology are somewhat blurry
and not easy to track down, but many claim that these same forces are using political events
and power, and here especially the political heads of the USA, in order to carry out their agenda
of global neoliberalism. The literature that I am about to use speak of such instrumentalization.
In order to ensure the tight economic power grip even in the near and far future, neoliberals
have successfully influenced the White House and one of the results of this influence can be
seen in the events that took and still take place in Iraq. War was absolutely necessary, but not
for the reasons that the Bush and the Obama administration claimed. The main thriving power
and will behind the occupation must be found and seen in other fields of interest (Smith
2005:13).

World System Theory

According to this view, world regions can be divided into core, periphery and semi-periphery.
Both imperialism and World System Theory involve a state-capital nexus or some kind that
places states in the centre of the analyses. They describe a territorial partition of the world
based on a hierarchy of national economies. By the late 1970s it was apparent that a shift was
occurring in the international division of labour. Manufacturing was no longer the work of the
core economies Manufacturing used to be at the forefront of technology and production
and was a common trait of industrialised and wealthy society. However, today it’s finance
and the ‘knowledge economy’ industries that are amongst the most profitable, and represent
the base of the core’s economic power. In 2017, United States companies accounted for 26 of
the 50 most profitable companies in the world, collectively amassing $382.32 billion in
profits (Fortune Magazine 2018). Seventeen of these are in finance, technology, media or
pharmaceuticals.

Constructivism

According to the constructivist theory, States are the main unit of analysis of the world system,
and States’ interests and identities are directly shaped by social constructs rather than having
an external cause or origin. Constructivism sees the world, and what we can know about the
world, as socially constructed. This view refers to the nature of reality and the nature of
knowledge that are also called ontology and epistemology in research language. Alexander
Wendt (1995) It is important to understand that the social relationship between the United
States and Britain and the United States and North Korea is perceived in a similar way by these
states, as this shared understanding (or intersubjectivity) forms the basis of their interactions.
The example also shows that nuclear weapons by themselves do not have any meaning unless
we understand the social context.

ICT

The International Communication and Information Policy (CIP) group is one of seven issue-
oriented organizations within the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs at the
U.S. Department of State. CIP advocates international policies for expanded access to
information and communication technologies (ICT), improved efficiency in the worldwide ICT
and telecommunications market through increased reliance on free-market forces, and fair
opportunities for U.S. companies to participate in this important sector around the globe. In
supporting such policies, CIP supports foreign policy goals of empowering people by giving
them fuller access to a wealth of educational opportunities, information resources and forums
for exchange of ideas. Additionally, an efficient ICT and telecommunications global structure
creates a healthier environment for U.S. companies doing business in all sectors, improving the
standard of living at home and abroad.
References

Smith, N., 2005, The endgame of globalization, New York

Spich, R., 2005, ―A neoliberal nexus; economy and security‖, Political Geography, Volume
25, Issue 2, page 211-225

United States of America 2021, Foreign Policy, US Department of State Archive (USA),
viewed 31 March 2021 https://www.state.gov/

Modelski, G 2003, A Theory of Foreign Policy, Princeton Studies in World Politics,Vol.2,

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Eugene R. Wittkopf, Christopher M. Jones, and Charles W. Kegley, Jr. (2007). American
Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process, 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Gibson H. (1944). The Road to Foreign Policy, https://doi.org/10.2307/2144123

Atela Finney A. Israel, 2016, Examine And Exhaustively Discuss United States Of America
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