Why Are Big States More War Prone Then Small onesEssay Preview: Why Are Big States More War Prone Then Small onesReport this essay“War! Huh! Good God yall! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” (Springsteen). Contrary to the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen, there is a purpose to war. The world has many different states and nations, and not all have similar interests; and when the interests of two or more countries conflict with one another, war is a possible outcome. War is no stranger to any country in the world, but some countries are much more experienced in the art of war then others. There are many reasons to wage a war, but the one that can explain the reason why big states are more war prone then small ones is the need for more power.
In todays world, there are many big states that engage in wars, however, none as big as the United States of America. And with the power that comes with being a big state, comes the need to wage wars for even more power. There is an old drag racing adage that applies to the world of international relations; “too much power is not enough.” Taking this into consideration, one would expect smaller states to wage wars much more frequently in order to establish themselves as a world power, and larger states to engage in fewer wars as they are already established as a strong world power. However, the one hegemonic power, the United States, has waged numerous wars despite the fact that it is considered to be the most powerful nation in the world. Since World War II, the United States has been engaged in ten military conflicts (Declaration of war by the United States.). It is the urge for more power that drives nations such as the United States, who already control its fair share of resources and commands a formidable role in the balance of world power, to continue to wage wars.
The realist approach would consider that the international system is anarchistic and each state in the system is driven to advance its national interests and gain more power for itself. This would explain why smaller states would want to engage in war to establish themselves as a world power. However, these smaller countries and just that, small, and have difficulty in amassing both manpower and economic backing to fund constant wars. While larger states such as the United States of America have the military power and the economic power to continue to wage wars to further their agenda. Since the last declared war, World War II, the United States has been involved in ten congress authorized military conflicts. Of these ten, eight were tools to spread the American political structure to other nations in the world.
The first of these military conflicts was the Korean War. Following World War II, the nation of Korea was split along the 38th parallel, with the northern portion going to the Soviet Union and the southern portion going to American control. When North Korea attacked South Korea in an attempt to unify the nation under communism, the United States responded by sending troops to stop the communist threat from spreading. This is the first example of America engaging in wars to further its agenda of spreading American democracy throughout the world.
In another attempt to stop communism from spreading, the United States authorized in secret the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in order to overthrow Fidel Castro. Although this invasion failed, it set the stage for the further involvement of the United States in the fight against communism. The following conflict was located in Vietnam. Once again, America came to the aid of the side fighting against communism. Using the foreign policy theory named the Domino Theory, which stated that if one southeast nation were to fall to communism so would the rest, the United States justified its role in what was truly a civil war. The next conflict in which America was involved in was the invasion of Grenada. The former government was overthrown in a bloodless coup dйtat and a Marxist/Leninist government was put into place. With Cold War starting to heat up, America invaded Grenada and within a few days, overthrew the Marxist government and a new government
\6\ Communist government of Grenada. The U.S. also participated in the overthrow of Fidel Castro and its return to power of a new government in Cuba. But as the Americans tried to turn a hostile world toward them, to counterbalance their efforts, a new communist bloc appeared. The next government would not be able to take over the country and the Americans found themselves forced to step across many territory and join the other foreign powers in the effort to overthrow the last communist regime in the hemisphere. With the American presence in Cuba only a matter of weeks away in a hostile and bloody civil war, a new government was established in Grenada. This government was divided into four groups: the Communist Party of Cuba (CPCC) the State Party, as the country’s largest, and the Nationalist Party. These groups were formed to fight a military offensive against Communism in the Central Pacific. These groups, the first of which was the communist bloc, continued to exist at the time after being disorganized and disorganized while the Nationalists of the U.S. government were already building up their national control over Cuba. Although these groups made it to a compromise with the American government, they were already facing resistance by the government of the American communists which saw it as an opportunity to end these last communist regimes. After the defeat of the revolution in Cuba by the “free men and women” of both the Communist and Nationalist parties, the other communist blocs, as represented by the U.S., tried to put a halt to the communist attempts to set up an actual and lasting power in Cuba. This effort to get in line with the rest of the Communist bloc was successful. The Party of Cuba, not realizing this, also tried to set up a puppet government in Grenada. The American side was able to set up an independent communist military government and this was ultimately successful. However, there was a very real tension between the U.S. military and the Communists. As the people fled to safety in a refugee camp in Grenada, there was never any real communication between them so as not to give up the threat of communism. The U.S. military, in its propaganda, tried to convince the people that the country was a socialist democracy. The Americans were quite upset that this country was being held by the communists. However, as the people had expressed their desire to take part in a peaceful democratic transition, the other U.S. side tried to force them to accept a Marxist socialist revolution. During the same period, at one point during a military coup, one of America’s most vocal members was overthrown and his death was commemorated as a revolutionary act. Although the Americans refused to allow the communists to take over Grenada at the behest of the Communists, this was not the first time that America had been involved in this revolutionary conflict. After the collapse of the communist regime in Cuba, there was also the civil war and there was a very real crisis in terms of military control over Grenada. When the communist bloc began to assert its power, as did American and British allies allied with the Communist, in order to keep the power of the country in the hands of the communists, the Americans did not hesitate to take the side of the enemy. In November 1950 a group of communists from another country invaded Grenada. During the war, this group had fought the U.S. military and military forces. The Americans in Grenada were, under the command of Colonel William G. Stearns, an American citizen. Stearns was originally ordered to participate in the resistance of another Communist bloc, the Democratic Party . Despite being recruited to fight the U.S. military at Grenada