Which of the following explanations of the effects of United States involvement in the Middle East could Friedmans point of view best be used to support?

 

<div class="so-col so--d-18"><div id="id14"><div class="so-layout-section"><div class="so-m-b-10"><div class="so-clearfix"><ul class="so-tiers so-f-l so--1"><li>Record<span class="so-sr">: found</span></li><li>Abstract<span class="so-sr">: found</span></li><li>Article<span class="so-sr">: found</span></li></ul><span class="so-tiers-open-access so-icon so--open-access"><span class="so-sr">Is Open Access</span></span></div></div><h2 class="so-article-header-title" dir="auto" itemprop="name">Promoting democracy or pursuing hegemony? An analysis of U.S. involvement in the Middle East</h2><div class="so-b3-container so--5 so-m-b-5"><div class="so-b3-label so--tiny-font so--borderless so--gray-1">research-article</div></div><div class="so-article-image so-user-image-wrapper so--3-cols"><img class="so-user-image" src="https://www.scienceopen.com/document_file/53430e55-10f5-4233-9007-77acf8496b91/ScienceOpen/large.png" alt="" itemprop="image"></div><div><div class="so-d so-article-header-text"> <div class="so-article-header-info"> <span class="so-metadata-label"> Author(s): </span> <a id="d51605e28" class="named-anchor"> </a> <a target="_blank" xmlns:fn="http://www.w3.org/2005/xpath-functions" href="https://www.scienceopen.com/search#author/e3b25f12-7d00-4fc6-9291-dbb083240a81"> <span itemprop="author">Ruairidh Wood</span> </a> </div> <div class="so-article-header-info"> <span class="so-metadata-label">Publication date <span class="data"> (Print): </span> </span> <span itemprop="datePublished">1 December 2019 </span> </div> <div class="so-article-header-info"> <span class="so-metadata-label">Journal: </span> <a target="_blank" itemprop="journal-url" href="https://www.scienceopen.com/collection/ed8577c4-e9f1-4b39-9bd3-803d0eba883d">Journal of Global Faultlines</a> </div> <div class="so-article-header-info"> <span class="so-metadata-label">Publisher: </span> <a target="_blank" itemprop="publisher-url" href="https://www.scienceopen.com/collection/2281cdf2-c34b-4e11-895b-0f0152b8783e">Pluto Journals</a> </div> </div></div><div class="so-m-y-15"><div class="so-b3-container so--5 so--bottom"><button class="so-b3 so-dropdown" id="id15"> Download <span class="so-icon so--dropdown">&nbsp;</span></button><div class="so-n"><ul class="so-dropdown-inner so--right" id="id16"><li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" download="" href="https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?-1.ILinkListener-header-action~bar-download~dropdown-pdf~link-link&doi=10.13169/jglobfaul.6.2.0166" class="so-dropdown-list-button"> Download <span>PDF</span></a></li><li></li><li><a target="_blank" class="so-dropdown-list-button" href="https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?-1.ILinkListener-header-action~bar-download~dropdown-xml~link&doi=10.13169/jglobfaul.6.2.0166" rel="nofollow" onclick="ga('send', 'event', 'Article Events', 'XML Downloaded', 'Promoting democracy or pursuing hegemony? An analysis of U.S. involvement in the Middle East', 1, {'dimension4': 'Pluto Journals', 'dimension5': 'Journal of Global Faultlines'});">XML</a></li></ul></div><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ so_init('dropdown', { 'buttonID': "id15", 'dropdownID': "id16" }); /*]]>*/

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Promoting democracy in the Middle East has been cited by the U.S. as a key foreign policy objective post-Cold War. As a result the U.S. has intervened in numerous countries and conflicts, particularly since 9/11 and the subsequent declaration of the War on Terror. However, this has not been without controversy and its actions often aid imperialism rather than the country it claims its intervention is benefitting. This paper challenges the claim that the U.S. is indeed promoting democracy, arguing that it is instead pursuing national objectives to increase hegemony. By analyzing U.S. involvement in the Middle East from the Soviet-Afghan War, through the Invasion of Iraq and Arab Spring, up to present day, this paper contends that the U.S. has continuously created instability in the region, in terms of both state and human security. By constructing various actors as threats to themselves, the West or the world, the U.S. has been able to justify its aggressive pursuit of foreign policy objectives in the Middle East. Utilizing the theories of realism, liberalism, and constructivism, this research discusses how the U.S. has attempted to achieve hegemony in the region, and indeed globally, before contrasting this with humanitarian efforts it has been a part of. The paper also analyses the impact external actors have had on U.S. action, discussing the crucial but often constrained role of the United Nations, as well as the contentious proliferation of private military and security companies in the post-Cold War era.

Contributors Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50018794

Journal ID (jcode): jglobfaul

Title: Journal of Global Faultlines

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2397-7825

ISSN: 2054-2089

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2019

Volume: 6

Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/jglobfaul.6.issue-2 )

Pages: 166-185

Affiliations

Ruairidh Wood is a Birmingham City University Graduate with a degree in Security Studies.

Article

Publisher ID: jglobfaul.6.2.0166

DOI: 10.13169/jglobfaul.6.2.0166

SO-VID: 6e938284-92da-4a42-8f1d-082ecf940159

Copyright statement: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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Comment on this article

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