Although after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic democratic institutions experienced two awful years, it is undeniable that “freedom is always better than unfreedom”. Western European democracies and the US promote the integral values of the modern world: inclusivity, tolerance, accountability of the state, and so forth. At the same time, there are plenty of heavily undemocratic countries like North Korea, Russia, and Belarus that silence the dissident voices and use the rhetoric of hatred against the civilized world. The main driver for change in these regimes should be not the military intervention but the economical and international pressure of the unified bloc of democratic countries.
The idea of creating a dichotomy between democratic and dictatorial countries in the international arena takes its roots in the neoliberal paradigm of international relations theory. The main idea of it is that order of liberal democratic states is always better because it ensures the absence of military conflicts and aggressive type of diplomacy (Saleh et al., 2019). Indeed, one cannot imagine any wars in human history between two democratic states. What also makes neoliberalism distinctive from other theories is that it recognizes the great importance of non-governmental organizations (IMF, UN) in modifying the world order in the right direction (Saleh et al., 2019). Thus, there are not solely states that influence world politics but international organizations which promote mutual financial interdependency of free market economies.
In the case of the US, it represents the greatest power in the world that can influence the political order by participating in NATO and other international organizations. In the context of this essay, it has the power to force dictators to start reforms in their countries or arrange free elections to determine the legitimate leader. However, the most controversial issue is the use of military power against authoritarian states. In academic literature, the neoliberal school indicates that the use of the military will certainly decrease the quality of democracy of the aggressor (Ellner, 2019). Another argument is that it is not necessary to use military power in a world of complex interdependence because economic pressure can be much more influential (Dirzauskaite & Ilinca, 2017). Hence, the economic pressure from the united bloc of democratic countries with the leading role of the US can contribute to regime change in dictatorships. For example, US journalists extensively insist on the implementation of a sanctions list against top-ranked Russian officials and oligarchs to force radical improvements (Stephens, 2020). The focus on the economic well-being of figures responsible for oppression can have a great impact on the increase of justice and peace.
To sum up, the issue of the use of military forces by the US makes many American citizens concerned by the country’s foreign policy. The main argument of this essay was that the US has enough tools to influence dictatorships. Using concepts and ideas from the neoliberal theory of international relations, the essay elaborated more on the question of democratic peace and the improvement of complex interdependence. The main condition for actions against dictatorial regimes is the non-use of violence and military forces. Instead, the modern world order allows states to use economic pressure as an influential method for eliminating dictators.
References
Dirzauskaite, G., & Ilinca, N. C. (2017). Understanding “hegemony” in international relations theories. Development and International Relations, Aalborg University, Denmark.
Ellner, S. (2019). Introduction: Globalization, neoliberalism, and popular responses. Latin American Perspectives, 46(6), 4-9. Web.
Saleh, Y. G., Danwanzam, A. U., & Stephen, A. R. (2019). Neoliberalism and international organizations. Scholedge International Journal of Multidisciplinary & Allied Studies, 6(11), 113-118. Web.
Stephens, B. (2020). Congress should pass a Navalny act. New York Times. Web.
What genre did you choose for your written piece?
I used the genre of persuasive essay on a controversial topic.
How does your writing demonstrate this genre?
Firstly, the topic of the essay was formulated in a way to make people read the whole paper. It seems to be quite intriguing and relevant for the modern news agenda. Secondly, I used the information from reputative sources in order to build a justified argument. It is an indispensable part of any persuasive essay to convince readers with the well used secondary literature.
All writing has a purpose that is unique to the situation. What did you hope to accomplish with your written piece?
I hope to change the existing state of affairs where there are plenty of regimes responsible for repressions against freedom of speech and expression. Although this paper is not designated for policy makers, it may influence the public opinion.
What research did you do for this assignment?
I relied on my existing knowledge in this area and consulted up-to-date sources from Google Scholar.