scholarly journals Islamic Identity and Foreign Policy Discourse: Indonesia’s Responses to the US War in Afghanistan (2001-2002)

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agus Salim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Dual Identity ◽  
The Us ◽  
Islamic Identity ◽  
Global War

Observers of Indonesia’s foreign policy commonly argue that while the state needs to include domestic Muslim interests in its foreign policy formulation, foreign policy officials have rarely considered Islam in their policy choices, with a dual-identity predicament constraining such a move. This article challenges this argument by demonstrating that foreign policy leaders have begun referring to Islamic identity and norms when justifying Indonesia’s foreign policy choices. By discussing Indonesia’s foreign policy responses to the United States’ war in Afghanistan in 2001, this paper elucidates the way in which Indonesia’s foreign policy leaders have constructed Islam as an “inclusive civilizational” identity in their foreign policy discourse, legitimizing their alliance with the global war on terrorism amid staunch domestic Muslim opposition to the war. They managed to turn identity constraint into opportunity by framing their policies within the context of “inclusive” and “integrative” Islamic values and norms.

Japan’s Central Asia Policy Revisited: National Identity, Interests, and Foreign Policy Discourses

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 853-867
Author(s):  
Sabina Insebayeva
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Countries

AbstractThis article focuses on the nature of Japan’s foreign policy formulation and legitimization through a study of its interaction with Central Asian countries. The article examines foreign policy discourse that constructs Japan’s “self” vis-à-vis Central Asian “other.” It reveals the textual mechanism through which reality, objects, and subjects are constructed, and it interprets the official statements contained in several foreign policy initiatives, in particular, the “Eurasian (Silk Road) Diplomacy,” the “Central Asia plus Japan,” and the “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity,” as an attempt to understand the intersubjective knowledge and analytical lens through which Japanese foreign policy makers conceive and interpret the constructed “reality,” produce foreign policy choices, and choose among identified alternatives.

Contesting Identity

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 423-436
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Kumar H.M.
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
War Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Global War ◽  
The Cold War

The interface between religion and politics has become strong in the wake of expansion of modernity in its contemporary form. This can be regarded as cultural globalization. To interpret this phenomenon, the demonization of Islam by the West led by the US has been taken as a key epistemological point. This article argues that this policy, framed as part of the American strategy in the global war on terrorism, has constituted a key component of the larger US agenda. One facet of this agenda is primarily related to America’s bid to perpetuate the institutional structure of the permanent war economy envisaged during the Cold War period. The structure consists of the vocational interests of the arms lobby and the hawkish politico-bureaucratic-strategic condominium in the US. To accomplish this goal, communism, the United States’ Cold War enemy, has been replaced by a new enemy, Islam, at the end of the Cold War. The events of 11 September 2001 brought all this to a full circle and facilitated the US to advance justifications for continuing the permanent war economy and to substantiate the transformation of the ideological conflict of the Cold War into a cultural conflict in the post-Cold War period. In this regard, the rise of US soft power, made possible by the pervasive impact of globalization, has helped defend America’s post-Cold War proposition regarding an emergent war culture and the portrayal of Islam as the Manichean other in this war.

From friend to foe: Post-9/11 Pakistan–US relations; a realist perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 205789112110079
Author(s):  
Syed Muhammad Saad Zaidi ◽  
Azhar Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Structural Realism ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
The Us ◽  
Drone Strikes ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
Realist Perspective

The relations between Pakistan and the United States, throughout the course of history, have witnessed many ups and downs. At times, when their interests were aligned, strong socio-economic and military cooperation was seen between the two states. Yet, on other occasions they were at odds with and distant from each other. However, post 9/11, Pakistan–US relations were at its zenith, when Pakistan became the frontline ally of the US in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, and the US granted Pakistan the prestigious status of non-NATO ally. Soon after, though, the partnership between the two states was in troubled waters: when the US repeatedly violated Pakistan’s sovereignty through drone strikes and covert ops, it diplomatically painted Pakistan as the bad guy by claiming it to be part of the problem (terrorism), not the solution, and by promoting India within the region. Furthermore, when Pakistan became part of China’s New Silk Road initiative, commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan–US relations saw its lowest point in history. This article critically analyzes post-9/11 Pakistan–US relations by application of two mainstream theories of international relations in tandem: Realism and (Neo)structural Realism. Realism explains the US foreign policy rationale, while Structural Realism explains Pakistan’s foreign policy choices in relation to the US.

scholarly journals HOSNI MUBARAK’S FOREIGN POLICY AND THE ISLAMIC FACTOR

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Guzal KADIROvA
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
Head Of State ◽  
The Government ◽  
Global War ◽  
Terrorist Acts

The article examines the complicated domestic and foreign political situation inherited by H. Mubarak after the assassination of the former head of state A. Sadat by radical Islamists because of his foreign policy steps directly related to Islamic solidarity at the international level. H. Mubarak’s foreign policy was a continuation of the domestic one. He tried to attract supporters among the Islamists, at the same time widely using repression to weaken the Islamist opposition, and, at the same time, sought to pursue a policy of promoting state Islam, which was designed to show the Islamic character of the country and thus seize the initiative from the Islamist opposition. Having restored Egypt’s position in the Arab and Islamic world, in the last decade of his rule, H. Mubarak, as a result of unsuccessful steps towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, again faced criticism of his course. This was superimposed on the growth of opposition within the country, and the dilemma, which H. Mubarak tried to solve at the last stage of his rule, looked like a classic “paradox of democracy”, when the launching of democratization processes leads to the strengthening of Islamist forces. Another dimension on which the Islamic factor manifested itself in the foreign policy pursued under H. Mubarak was the fight against international terrorism. For Egypt, this problem worsened in the 1990s. Opposition to radical Islam reached a new level after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and the declaration of a “global war on terrorism”, in which Egypt became a participant. During this period, al-Qaeda considered Egypt as one of the directions of the “global jihad”. The actions of the government of Egypt and the terrorist acts against this country revealed previously unknown groups that were somehow identified with Al-Qaeda and the “global jihad”.

Shoring up a Sea of Signs: How the Caribbean Basin Initiative Framed the US Invasion of Grenada

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Weber
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Caribbean Basin ◽  
Critical Geopolitics ◽  
The Us ◽  
Caribbean Basin Initiative ◽  
Us Hegemony ◽  
The Caribbean

Diseourse in the United States concerning the Grenada invasion exemplifies what is at stake at the intersection between geography and critical geopolitics. In this paper I have taken seriously the geographic imagery of foreign policy discourse in order to examine how discursive diplomatic flows (and other fluids) are shaped by the containers in which they are placed. The Caribbean Basin Initiative—the Reagan administration's geopolitical container for its Caribbean policy—allowed the administration to chart a new course for US hegemony in the region. Contained and contextualized by the Initiative, regional struggles such as the invasion of Grenada are saturated with implications that may have been absent had Caribbean policy been framed differently.

Against Slave Power? Slavery and Runaway Slaves in Mexico-United States Relations, 1821–1857

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-170
Author(s):  
Gerardo Gurza-Lavalle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The South ◽  
Runaway Slaves ◽  
The Us ◽  
El Alto ◽  
Upper South ◽  
Lower South

This work analyses the diplomatic conflicts that slavery and the problem of runaway slaves provoked in relations between Mexico and the United States from 1821 to 1857. Slavery became a source of conflict after the colonization of Texas. Later, after the US-Mexico War, slaves ran away into Mexican territory, and therefore slaveholders and politicians in Texas wanted a treaty of extradition that included a stipulation for the return of fugitives. This article contests recent historiography that considers the South (as a region) and southern politicians as strongly influential in the design of foreign policy, putting into question the actual power not only of the South but also of the United States as a whole. The problem of slavery divided the United States and rendered the pursuit of a proslavery foreign policy increasingly difficult. In addition, the South never acted as a unified bloc; there were considerable differences between the upper South and the lower South. These differences are noticeable in the fact that southerners in Congress never sought with enough energy a treaty of extradition with Mexico. The article also argues that Mexico found the necessary leeway to defend its own interests, even with the stark differential of wealth and resources existing between the two countries. El presente trabajo analiza los conflictos diplomáticos entre México y Estados Unidos que fueron provocados por la esclavitud y el problema de los esclavos fugitivos entre 1821 y 1857. La esclavitud se convirtió en fuente de conflicto tras la colonización de Texas. Más tarde, después de la guerra Mexico-Estados Unidos, algunos esclavos se fugaron al territorio mexicano y por lo tanto dueños y políticos solicitaron un tratado de extradición que incluyera una estipulación para el retorno de los fugitivos. Este artículo disputa la idea de la historiografía reciente que considera al Sur (en cuanto región), así como a los políticos sureños, como grandes influencias en el diseño de la política exterior, y pone en tela de juicio el verdadero poder no sólo del Sur sino de Estados Unidos en su conjunto. El problema de la esclavitud dividió a Estados Unidos y dificultó cada vez más el impulso de una política exterior que favoreciera la esclavitud. Además, el Sur jamás operó como unidad: había diferencias marcadas entre el Alto Sur y el Bajo Sur. Estas diferencias se observan en el hecho de que los sureños en el Congreso jamás se esforzaron en buscar con suficiente energía un tratado de extradición con México. El artículo también sostiene que México halló el margen de maniobra necesario para defender sus propios intereses, pese a los fuertes contrastes de riqueza y recursos entre los dos países.

Liberal Internationalism from George W. Bush to Barack Obama

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Barack Obama ◽  
Democratic Peace ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
Liberal Internationalism ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Global War

This chapter examines the United States' liberal democratic internationalism from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. It first considers the Bush administration's self-ordained mission to win the “global war on terrorism” by reconstructing the Middle East and Afghanistan before discussing the two time-honored notions of Wilsonianism espoused by Democrats to make sure that the United States remained the leader in world affairs: multilateralism and nation-building. It then explores the liberal agenda under Obama, whose first months in office seemed to herald a break with neoliberalism, and his apparent disinterest in the rhetoric of democratic peace theory, along with his discourse on the subject of an American “responsibility to protect” through the promotion of democracy abroad. The chapter also analyzes the Obama administration's economic globalization and concludes by comparing the liberal internationalism of Bush and Obama.

Still the American Century

1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 271-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRUCE CUMINGS
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Federal Budget ◽  
The United States ◽  
Surprising Result ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
American Century ◽  
The Us ◽  
Year 2000

At the inception of the twenty-first century—not to mention the next millennium—books on ‘the American Century’ proliferate monthly, if not daily. We now have The American Century Dictionary, The American Century Thesaurus, and even The American Century Cookbook; perhaps the American Century baseball cap or cologne is not far behind. With one or two exceptions, the authors celebrate the unipolar pre-eminence and comprehensive economic advantage that the United States now enjoys. Surveys of public opinion show that most people agree: the American wave appears to be surging just as the year 2000 beckons. Unemployment and inflation are both at twenty-year lows, sending economists (who say you can't get lows for both at the same time) back to the drawing board. The stock market roars past the magic 10,000 mark, and the monster federal budget deficit of a decade ago miraculously metamorphoses into a surplus that may soon reach upwards of $1 trillion. Meanwhile President William Jefferson Clinton, not long after a humiliating impeachment, is rated in 1999 as the best of all postwar presidents in conducting foreign policy (a dizzying ascent from eighth place in 1994), according to a nationwide poll by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. This surprising result might also, of course, bespeak inattention: when asked to name the two or three most important foreign policy issues facing the US, fully 21 per cent of the public couldn't think of one (they answered ‘don't know’), and a mere seven per cent thought foreign policy issues were important to the nation. But who cares, when all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds?

Afghanistan Meets the Amazon: Reading The Kite Runner in America

PMLA ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Aubry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Novel ◽  
United States Military ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
Customer Reviews ◽  
Global War ◽  
Fictional Representations

This essay considers the American reception of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner in the context of the Bush administration's global war on terrorism by examining the customer reviews of the novel posted on Amazon. As many of the responses indicate, identification serves as a paradoxical means of negotiating with fictional representations of foreignness. The intense and painful empathy inspired by The Kite Runner serves a valorizing function for American readers, strengthening their sense of their own humanity—an effect that resists strict political categorization. Hosseini's ambivalent conception of what it means to be human, I argue, supports a diversity of competing attitudes toward the United States' military intervention in the Middle East and central Asia, while simultaneously catering to fantasies of escape from ideological and cultural divisions altogether.

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