William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

What is foreign policy? 623

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have continued to

disagree over many policies, including the enlargement of NATO to include most

former Warsaw Pact countries, the deployment of American anti-ballistic missile

systems in Eastern Europe, the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Russian invasion of

Georgia in 2008, Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2013, Russia’s intervention on the

side of the Syrian government starting in 2015, and Russia’s efforts to influence citizen

opinions and votes in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. While tensions have increased

in recent years as a result of all these conflicts, it is important to remember that only

20 years ago both countries had enough weapons aimed at each other to destroy the

entire world. Today, however, there is little chance of direct conflict between the United

States and Russia.

After the Cold War: Human Rights, Trade, and Terrorism The end of

the Cold War, along with the growing number of democracies worldwide and the

development of democratic peace theories (which argue that democracies will not

fight other democracies), suggested to some observers that military conflicts would

become much rarer and other concerns would emerge to influence America’s foreign

p ol ic y.^31 Events early in the post–Cold War era seemed to support this thesis. Human

rights became a more important foreign policy topic.^32 The United States became

involved in humanitarian relief and nation-building efforts in Somalia, Bosnia, and

Kosovo. A series of agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA) in 1994 and the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995,

lowered tariffs throughout the world. Technological advances in transportation also

lowered the cost of shipping goods worldwide, and the industrialization of many third

world countries made them low-cost suppliers of manufactured goods to the United

States, causing many domestic factories to close. These developments exemplify the

concept of “soft power:” that is, America’s exertion of influence over other nations

through increased economic interactions and cultural ties rather than the use of

military force.^33

In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall, which

separated West Berlin from communist

East Berlin, provided a powerful

symbol of the end of the Cold War.

With just one superpower—the United

States—left, many predicted that

democracy would spread and peace

would prevail. However, new foreign

policy challenges quickly emerged.

Full_18_APT_64431_ch17_614-654.indd 623 16/11/18 11:21 AM