Peace through strength

"Peace through strength" is a phrase that suggests that military power can help preserve peace. It is quite old and has famously been used by many leaders from Roman Emperor Hadrian in the first century AD to former US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. The concept has long been associated with realpolitik.[1] The idea has critics, with Andrew Bacevich stating, "'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war.'"

History

The phrase and the concept date to ancient times. Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 76–138) is said to have sought "peace through strength or, failing that, peace through threat.'[2] Hadrian's Wall was a symbol of the policy.[3]

United States

The first US president, George Washington, enunciated a policy of peace through strength in his fifth annual message to Congress, the 1793 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]

In Federalist No. 24, Alexander Hamilton argued 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 Strength (1952) is the title of a book about a defense plan by Bernard Baruch, a World War II adviser to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, published by Farrar, Straus and Young.[8] During the 1964 presidential campaign in the United States, the Republican Party spent about $5 million on "Peace through Strength" TV spots.[9] For supporters of the MX missile in the 1970s, the missile symbolized "peace through strength."[10]

Republican Party

In 1980, Ronald Reagan used the phrase during his election challenge against Jimmy Carter by 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 Rogers had his own answer. He said of the world heavyweight champion of his day: "I've never seen anyone insult Jack Dempsey.[14]

The approach has been credited for forcing the Soviet Union to lose the arms race and end the Cold War.[15] "Peace Through Strength" is the official motto of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).[16]

"Peace Through Strength" appeared in the Republican Party platforms of 1980,[17] 1984,[18] 1988,[19] 1992,[20] 1996,[21] 2000,[22] 2008,[23] 2012,[24][25][26][27] and 2016.[28][29]

On assuming office in January 2017, Donald Trump cited 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]

Criticism

For Andrew 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.'"[32]

Jim George of Australian National University used the term to describe part of what he argued was the Straussian and neoconservative foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration.[33]

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".[34] Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich adopted the slogan "Strength Through Peace" during his 2008 presidential run as part of his platform as a peace candidate against the Iraq War.[35]

Trademark dispute

During Reagan's presidency, the non-profit American 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.[36] The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Security Policy (CSP) have also used the term in print.[37] The ASCF registered a trademark for the phrase in April 2011.[38] In September 2012, ASCF filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against CSP and Frank Gaffney,[39] prompting the Washington City Paper to ridicule ASCF's Director of Operations, Gary James, for editing the online encyclopedia Wikipedia article titled 'Peace through strength' so that it was "drenched in ... ASCF references".[40] 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.[41]

See also

References
  1. Bruce Russett (2009). World Politics: The Menu for Choice. Cengage Learning. p. 325. ISBN 978-0495410683. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  2. Elizabeth Speller (Oct 14, 2004). Following Hadrian?. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780195176131.
  3. Martin Wainwright (14 March 2010). "Legions of sightseers attend Hadrian's Wall illumination". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved September 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.
  4. Houston Wood (2015). Invitation to Peace Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780190217136. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  5. Mark J Rozell (2000). George Washington and the Origins of the American Presidency. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 24. ISBN 9780275968670.
  6. George Washington (December 3, 1793). "Fifth Annual Message of George Washington". 1793 State of the Union Address. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  7. The Federalist Papers. New York: New American Library, a division of Penguin Books. 1999. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-451-52881-6.
  8. 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.
  9. Steven A. Seidman (2008). Posters, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Election Campaigns Around the World and Through History. Peter Lang. p. 76. ISBN 9780820486161. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  10. Fred Kaplan (18 September 2005). "Perspective: Cold War Relic; All It Touched Off Was a Debate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  11. Kiron K. Skinner, Serhiy Kudelia, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, and Condoleezza Rice (17 September 2007). "Politics Starts at the Water's Edge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2017.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  12. "Peace Through Strength (1980 Political Commercial)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05.
  13. White House. "Biography of Ronald Reagan". United States Government. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  14. "Reagan 2020 - Ronald Reagan - Address on National Security". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  15. Jeffrey Arthur Larsen (2005). "Peace through Strength". Historical Dictionary Of Arms Control And Disarmament. Scarecrow Press. p. 168.
  16. "'Peace Through Strength' - The Official Web Site of CVN 76 USS Ronald Reagan". United States Navy. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  17. "Republican Party Platform of 1980". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  18. "Republican Party Platform of 1984". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  19. "Republican Party Platform of 1988". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  20. "Republican Platform of 1992". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  21. "Republican Party Platform of 1996". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  22. "Republican Party Platform of 2000". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  23. "2008 Republican Party Platform". The American Presidenty Project. Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  24. Republican Platform. "We Believe in America". Republican National Committee. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  25. Huntley, Steve (October 8, 2012). "Romney's Foreign Policy: Peace Through Strength". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  26. Editorial (October 8, 2012). "Romney's Peace Through Strength". Washington Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  27. Walshe, Shushannah (September 12, 2012). "Paul Ryan Describes Mitt Romney Foreign Policy as the 'Peace Through Strength Doctrine'". The Note, ABC News. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  28. David A. Graham (February 16, 2016). "Ted Cruz's Hugely Expensive Plan for a Huge Military". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  29. Mark Z. Barabak (December 6, 2016). "Trump channels Reagan, promising 'peace through strength'". LA Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  30. Karen DeYoung (January 10, 2017). "Trump's national security adviser says foreign policy will emphasize 'peace through strength'". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  31. 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.pdf Archived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
  32. Andrew Bacevich (4 August 2010). "The Western Way of War Has Run its Course". CBS News. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  33. Jim George (June 2005). "Leo Strauss, Neoconservatism and US Foreign Policy: Esoteric Nihilism and the Bush Doctrine". International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan. 42 (2): 174–202. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800106. S2CID 143465538.
  34. John Lofland (1993). Polite Protesters: The American Peace Movement of the 1980s. Syracuse University Press. pp. 103–104.
  35. Eric Appleman, ed. (2008). The Race for the 2008 Democratic Nomination: A Book of Editorial Cartoons. Pelican Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9781455610808. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  36. "The American Security Council Mission Statement". Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  37. Kim R. Holmes (1995). "Geo-Conservatism; Why Conservatives Are Better Than Liberals at Foreign Policy". Policy Review. The Heritage Foundation (71): 38.
  38. "Peace Through Strength". United States Patent and Trademark Office. April 5, 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  39. "American Security Council Foundation v. Center for Security Policy, Inc. et al". District of Columbia District Court. Justia. September 7, 2012. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  40. Sommer, Will (September 14, 2012). "No Peace for Hawkish Think Tanks Over Reagan Slogan". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  41. American Security Council Foundation (August 5, 2013). "Ronald Reagan's Legacy Preserved: AFLC Wins Favorable Settlement in Trademark Battle over Famous Slogan". Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
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