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Why America isn’t Europe. A Critical Historical look at two very different views of Liberal Democracy and how they affect Foreign Policy. A Question of Perspective. They way we perceive things is at least as important as the way “they really are.”
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Why America isn’t Europe A Critical Historical look at two very different views of Liberal Democracy and how they affect Foreign Policy.
A Question of Perspective • They way we perceive things is at least as important as the way “they really are.” • This course examines that fact in the case of these two large areas of Democracy. • How did this evolve? How did it manifest itself over the Post World-War 2 period? And, how is it likely to shape the future?
Perception at a Global Level The West The Far East The Middle East • Look at these two maps, and you will see there are two ways at looking at the position of the USA in the world. • This, psychologically, affects the way you “see” the world. This is the conventional view of the world; with Europe in the center. This gives the idea that Europe is the Center of the World. It also generates some conventional terms we use every day.
But, look at it this way… The East is in the West USA sits in the middle of two great oceans The West is in the East
Culture • We shall not be discussing details, or nuances, of institutions or ideas. • What we have here are two well-defined cultures of political paradigm, and we need to understand this. • We don’t, and this is a key problem in foreign relations between the two parts of the world. Important! This is a country with states. The states may have their own laws, but the sovereign nation is the United States of America. These states have no “national cultures,” only some regional characteristics. The only nations are the Native American Nations.
Here is a complication. It is called the European Union. It is not a country, though it has many of the powers of a sovereign country. It is not a nation, unless you believe “European” is a nationality. So, we are looking at something that is evolving, and this complicates our interpretation. On the other hand… This map shows nation states with relationship between place, language, culture, history, etc. These are countries, not states, as in the USA.
The American and French Revolutions are a good comparison of how events with, supposedly, similar principles, ended up very differently Provenance • No situation comes out of nowhere. • It evolves over time, and the past is an explanation of the present, as well as being some guide to the future. • This is History or Provenance.
