Unilateralism

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Unilaterality (of lat. Unus "a, only"; latus "page") means "one-sided". In politics, it is understood to mean the actions of a state in its own interest without considering the interests of others, which is also known as unilateralism .

US politics and political theory as a background

Unilateralism has a long history in the United States. In his farewell address, George Washington warned that the US should stay away from alliances with other countries. This political stance has been called isolationism by its opponents . However, many historians see this policy as unilateral rather than isolationist. (See Walter A. McDougalls Promised Land, Crusader State (1997), John Lewis Gaddis ' Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (2004) and Bradley F. Podliskas Acting Alone (2010)).

The unilateralism of the USA has been the subject of controversy, especially since the Iraq war , since the USA acted alone without NATO and the UN and was not supported by all previous partners (“ coalition of the willing ”).

The position of unilateralism in the USA was mainly represented by Paul Wolfowitz , who also shaped the program of the Bush doctrine in this regard . It is mainly represented in political science and political journalism by neorealists ( Charles Krauthammer , Robert Kagan ) and neo-institutionalists ( Robert Keohane ).

In response to an increasingly perceived unilateralism, the Alliance for Multilateralism was founded in 2019 .

Relationship between unilateralism and multilateralism

In Jochen Hippler's portrayal , unilateral politics often follow a position of power. “ Unipolarity ” tends to make unilateralism more likely, but not inevitable.

Hippler applies this term in particular to the foreign policy of the USA , but makes it clear that there cannot be pure unilateralism at all levels and, in the special case of the USA, multilateral and unilateral tendencies stand side by side and against each other. Hippler distinguishes the following five forms in the continuum between the extreme positions, the cooperative, the selective and the imperial multilateralism , in which "multilateral mechanisms are used above all for domination purposes and the 'cooperation' masks unilateral power relations and politics". On the other side of the spectrum stood the regional, the pure and the offensive unilateralism. The latter, seldom encountered form, undermines, weakens or sabotage multilateral mechanisms.

According to Hippler, it is rather a flexible application of points 2–6 of the spectrum outlined: depending on the benefit, one instrument of interest politics is emphasized at times, then another. One could speak of a flexible, selective unilateralism, with a tendency towards forms of pure and offensive unilateralism. “In fact, Washington's policy has not only been imperial since the end of the Cold War and the advent of the Bush administration - but not automatically and always unilaterally. Rather, it is a question of a flexible application of points 2–6 of the spectrum outlined: depending on the benefit, one or another instrument of interest policy is emphasized. So one can speak of a flexible, selective unilateralism, with a tendency towards forms of pure and offensive unilateralism. "

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Podliska, Bradley F. Acting Alone: A Scientific Study of American Hegemony and Unilateral Use-of-Force Decision Making . Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7391-4251-6
  2. ↑ a b Jochen Hippler / Jeanette Schade: US unilateralism as a problem of international politics and global governance ( Memento of October 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 823 kB) . INEF report No. 70, Duisburg 2003.