Peace through strength
"Peace through strength"is aphrasethat suggests thatmilitarypowercan help preservepeace.It has been used by many leaders fromRoman EmperorHadrianin the second century AD to formerUS PresidentRonald Reaganin the 1980s. The concept has long been associated withrealpolitik.[1]The idea has critics, withAndrew Bacevichstating,"'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war.'"
History
[edit]The phrase and the concept date to ancient times.Roman EmperorHadrian(AD 76–138) is said to have sought "peace through strength or, failing that, peace through threat."[2]Hadrian's Wallwas a symbol of the policy.[3]
United States
[edit]| This article is part ofa serieson |
| Conservatism in the United States |
|---|
 |
The firstUS president,George Washington,enunciated a policy of peace through strength in his fifth annual message to Congress, the1793 State of the Union Address.[4][5]He said:
There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.[6]
InFederalist No. 24,Alexander Hamiltonargued for peace through strength by stating that strong garrisons in the west and a navy in the east would protect the Union from the threat of Britain and Spain.[7]
Peace Through Strengthis the motto of theEighth Air Force,established in 1944.
Peace Through Strength(1952) is the title of a book about a defense plan byBernard Baruch,aWorld War IIadviser to US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt,published byFarrar, Straus and Young.[8]For supporters of theMX missilein the 1970s, the missile symbolized "peace through strength."[9]
Republican Party
[edit]DuringBarry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign in the United States, theRepublican Partyspent about $5 million on TV ads promoting Goldwater's foreign policy position of "Peace through Strength."[10]In 1980,Ronald Reagan,who had campaigned for Goldwater in 1964, used the phrase during his election challenge againstJimmy Carterby accusing the incumbent of weak, vacillating leadership that invited enemies to attack the United States and its allies.[11][12]Reagan later considered it one of the mainstays of his foreign policy as president.[13]In 1986, he explained it thus:
We know that peace is the condition under which mankind was meant to flourish. Yet peace does not exist of its own will. It depends on us, on our courage to build it and guard it and pass it on to future generations. George Washington's words may seem hard and cold today, but history has proven him right again and again. "To be prepared for war," he said, "is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." Well, to those who think strength provokes conflict,Will Rogershad his own answer. He said of the world heavyweight champion of his day: "I've never seen anyone insultJack Dempsey."[14]
The approach has been credited for forcing theSoviet Unionto lose the arms race and end the Cold War.[15]"Peace Through Strength" is the official motto of theNimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,USSRonald Reagan(CVN-76).[16]
"Peace Through Strength" has appeared in every party platform of the Republican Party since 1980.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
On assuming office in January 2017,Donald Trumpcited the idea of "Peace Through Strength" as central to his overall "America First" foreign policy.[30]As such the introduction to US National Defense Strategy of 2018 states: The US force posture combined with the allies will "preserve peace through strength." The document proceeds to detail what "achieving peace through strength requires."[31]
Taiwan
[edit]InTaiwan,"peace through strength" is a slogan ofTaiwanese nationalism,meaning to emphasize Taiwan's sovereignty, strengthen its military power, and work with theUnited StatesandJapanto guard against possible aggression by thePeople's Republic of China.
Lai Ching-te,the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), emphasized "peace through strength" even before he became president.[32]On June 19, 2024, president Lai reiterated that "peace must rely on strength, which is to say avoiding war by preparing for war to achieve peace".[33]
Criticism
[edit]ForAndrew Bacevich,"belief in the efficacy of military power almost inevitably breeds the temptation to put that power to work. 'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war.'"[34]
Jim George ofAustralian National Universityused the term to describe part of what he argued was theStraussianandneoconservativeforeign policy of theGeorge W. Bush administration.[35]
The mock inversion "strength through peace" has been used on occasion to draw criticism to the militaristic system of diplomacy advocated by "peace through strength".[36]Ohio RepresentativeDennis Kucinichadopted the slogan "Strength Through Peace" during his 2008 presidential run as part of his platform as a peace candidate against theIraq War.[37]
Trademark dispute
[edit]During Reagan's presidency, the non-profitAmerican Security Council Foundation(ASCF) and its for-profit direct-mail provider, Communications Corporation of America, sought to influence United States foreign policy by promoting the idea, but after the Soviet collapse of 1991, ASCF fell into obscurity, and other organizations continued to promote the slogan.[38]The Heritage Foundationand theCenter for Security Policy(CSP) have also used the term in print.[39]The ASCF registered a trademark for the phrase in April 2011.[40]In September 2012, ASCF filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against CSP andFrank Gaffney,[41]prompting theWashington City Paperto ridicule ASCF's Director of Operations, Gary James, for editing the online encyclopediaWikipediaarticle titled 'Peace through strength' so that it was "drenched in... ASCF references".[42]Following a counterclaim by the CSP alleging that the trademark application had been fraudulent, in August 2013 the ACSF announced that it had settled the lawsuit with the CSP and would cancel its trademark claim.[43]
See also
[edit]- Big Stick ideology
- Collective security
- Demoralization (warfare)
- Doublethinkin the 1949 novelNineteen Eighty-Four,which features the phrase "war is peace"
- Gunboat diplomacy
- Might makes right
- Mutual assured destruction
- Pax Americana
- Reagan Doctrine
- Si vis pacem, para bellum
- Right of conquest
- World peace
- Security dilemma
References
[edit]- ^Bruce Russett (2009).World Politics: The Menu for Choice.Cengage Learning. p. 325.ISBN978-0495410683.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-01-03.Retrieved2016-05-06.
- ^Elizabeth Speller (Oct 14, 2004).Following Hadrian?.Oxford University Press. p. 69.ISBN9780195176131.
- ^Martin Wainwright (14 March 2010)."Legions of sightseers attend Hadrian's Wall illumination".TheGuardian.com.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2013.RetrievedSeptember 15,2012.
Designed as a symbol of Hadrian's contemporary-sounding policy of "peace through strength", the wall marked the northern frontier of the Roman empire.
- ^Houston Wood (2015).Invitation to Peace Studies.Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25.ISBN9780190217136.RetrievedApril 29,2018.
- ^Mark J Rozell (2000).George Washington and the Origins of the American Presidency.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 24.ISBN9780275968670.
- ^George Washington(December 3, 1793)."Fifth Annual Message of George Washington".1793 State of the Union Address.Philadelphia.Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2018.RetrievedApril 29,2018.
- ^The Federalist Papers.New York: New American Library, a division of Penguin Books. 1999. pp. 157–158.ISBN0-451-52881-6.
- ^Rosenbloom, Morris Victor (1 January 1952)."Peace through strength: Bernard Baruch and a blueprint for security".American Surveys in association with Farrar, Straus and Young, New York – via Google Books.
- ^Fred Kaplan(18 September 2005)."Perspective: Cold War Relic; All It Touched Off Was a Debate".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2017.Retrieved18 February2017.
- ^Steven A. Seidman (2008).Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History.Peter Lang. p. 76.ISBN9780820486161.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-01-03.Retrieved2016-05-06.
- ^Kiron K. Skinner;Serhiy Kudelia; Bruce Bueno de Mesquita; Condoleezza Rice (17 September 2007)."Politics Starts at the Water's Edge".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2019.Retrieved18 February2017.
- ^"Peace Through Strength (1980 Political Commercial)".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-07-05.
- ^White House."Biography of Ronald Reagan".United States Government.Retrieved2009-07-19.
- ^"Reagan 2020 - Ronald Reagan - Address on National Security".Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-09.Retrieved2012-07-10.
- ^Jeffrey Arthur Larsen (2005). "Peace through Strength".Historical Dictionary Of Arms Control And Disarmament.Scarecrow Press. p.168.
- ^"'Peace Through Strength' - The Official Web Site of CVN 76 USS Ronald Reagan ".United States Navy.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Party Platform of 1980".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 26, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Party Platform of 1984".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Party Platform of 1988".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Platform of 1992".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Party Platform of 1996".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"Republican Party Platform of 2000".The American Presidency Project.Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^"2008 Republican Party Platform".The American Presidenty Project.Archivedfrom the original on November 12, 2008.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^Republican Platform."We Believe in America".Republican National Committee.Archivedfrom the original on October 17, 2012.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^Huntley, Steve (October 8, 2012)."Romney's Foreign Policy: Peace Through Strength".Chicago Sun Times.Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2013.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^Editorial (October 8, 2012)."Romney's Peace Through Strength".Washington Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 10, 2019.RetrievedOctober 12,2012.
- ^Walshe, Shushannah (September 12, 2012)."Paul Ryan Describes Mitt Romney Foreign Policy as the 'Peace Through Strength Doctrine'".The Note, ABC News.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2020.RetrievedJune 28,2020.
- ^David A. Graham (February 16, 2016)."Ted Cruz's Hugely Expensive Plan for a Huge Military".The Atlantic.Archivedfrom the original on June 22, 2016.RetrievedJuly 13,2016.
- ^Mark Z. Barabak (December 6, 2016)."Trump channels Reagan, promising 'peace through strength'".LA Times.Archivedfrom the original on December 11, 2016.RetrievedDecember 11,2016.
- ^Karen DeYoung (January 10, 2017)."Trump's national security adviser says foreign policy will emphasize 'peace through strength'".Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 21,2017.
- ^US National Defense Strategy, (Washington: Department of Defense, 2018), p 1, 6,https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdfArchived2018-08-07 at theWayback Machine
- ^"I'll pursue peace through strength, Lai says".Taipei Times.January 11, 2024.RetrievedNovember 1,2024.
- ^"Taiwan president says only military strength can keep the peace with China".Reuters.June 19, 2024.RetrievedNovember 1,2024.
- ^Andrew Bacevich(4 August 2010)."The Western Way of War Has Run its Course".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2013.Retrieved20 August2010.
- ^Jim George (June 2005). "Leo Strauss, Neoconservatism and US Foreign Policy: Esoteric Nihilism and the Bush Doctrine".International Politics.42(2). Palgrave Macmillan: 174–202.doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800106.S2CID143465538.
- ^John Lofland (1993).Polite Protesters: The American Peace Movement of the 1980s.Syracuse University Press. pp.103–104.ISBN9780815626053.
- ^Eric Appleman, ed. (2008).The Race for the 2008 Democratic Nomination: A Book of Editorial Cartoons.Pelican Publishing. p. 29.ISBN9781455610808.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-01-03.Retrieved2016-05-06.
- ^"The American Security Council Mission Statement".Archivedfrom the original on 14 December 2010.Retrieved9 August2010.
- ^Kim R. Holmes(1995)."Geo-Conservatism; Why Conservatives Are Better Than Liberals at Foreign Policy".Policy Review(71).The Heritage Foundation:38.
- ^"Peace Through Strength".United States Patent and Trademark Office. April 5, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 16 September 2018.Retrieved15 September2012.
- ^"American Security Council Foundation v. Center for Security Policy, Inc. et al".District of Columbia District Court.Justia. September 7, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on November 10, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 15,2012.
- ^Sommer, Will (September 14, 2012)."No Peace for Hawkish Think Tanks Over Reagan Slogan".Washington City Paper.Archivedfrom the original on March 3, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 15,2012.
- ^American Security Council Foundation(August 5, 2013)."Ronald Reagan's Legacy Preserved: AFLC Wins Favorable Settlement in Trademark Battle over Famous Slogan".Archivedfrom the original on April 12, 2015.RetrievedApril 8,2015.