Homework Question on American and European Values
- Different cultures have different values and reconciling these values is one of the most frustrating elements of foreign policy. Understanding and evaluating values is extremely important when it comes to influencing the conduct of a nation’s affairs. Even amongst cultures that share the majority of their values, such as the United States and the countries of Western Europe, there may be differences of opinion regarding the relative importance of particular values.
- In November, 2011, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll based on American and Western European values. After reading American Exceptionalism Subsides: The American-Western European Values Gap (http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/11/17/the-american-western-european-values-gap/), appraise the values of Europe and the U.S. when it comes to the following components:
- The utilization of military
- Whether they should be engaged with and provide assistance to other countries or be isolated from other countries
- Their beliefs about being a superior culture
- Political beliefs, individualism, or the role of the state
- The role of religion
- Beliefs about homosexuality
- The paper must be formatted according to APA style. You must use at least five scholarly resources other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims.
- Cite your resources in text and on the reference page.
Homework Answer on American and European Values
Utilization of Military
In terms of military capabilities, Europe lags behind when compared to America. The lower spending by the European countries makes them deploy fewer troops, and are not in a position to compete in terms of the latest technologies. Since the 1991 terrorist threat in America, the use of hard power has been the practice in America (Gray, 2011). This is contrary to Europe’s style of approaching threats where soft power antics are used.
The Americans have been pushing for escalation to new and sensitive targets unlike Europe, where troops are deployed as part of a larger mission, especially when led by the UN or the USA. Europe has been taking purely peacekeeping roles and civilian roles rather than the US military approach. Power is believed to facilitate reaction. This being the case, America, because of its might is able to access enemies who are far from the sea by gaining access through alliances.
This is a situation, which Europe is unable to control as it lacks the ability and mostly focuses on internal stability. In Europe, it is prohibited for the military people to become politicians unlike in America where the reverse is true. America believes that it should protect mankind, and therefore troops should be engaged to help the country as well as allies countries. America, therefore, believes that as a superpower, it has the mandate of protecting other countries, thus it engages in providing assistance to other countries so that world order can be maintained.