Soviet Union was only one source of U.S. policy, then we would expect Pentagon spending to remain
high and the interventions and other features of US Cold War foreign policy to continue. Anti-
imperialists point to increases in military spending and military interventions, rejection of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the maintenance of US foreign military bases, and the rise of
unilateralism as evidence that America’s expansionary policies have continued well into the Post-Cold
War world (Chomsky 2002; Wills 1999).
Good Neighbors
Good neighbors are inspired by FDR and his good neighbor approach toward Latin America. In
particular, they promote nonintervention and oppose military occupations, seek to understand the
complexities of mutually beneficial economic interdependence, propose programs to end racial and
gender discrimination, stress common problems among nations, and hope to establish a close nexus
between social democratic policies at home and responsible policies abroad. Essentially, they believe that
responsible global action is defined by setting a good and moral example. For example, if the US really
wanted to eradicate the global spread of weapons of mass destruction, it should not only renounce the
possession of WMD, it should dismantle its own stockpiles (Korb 2003).
Overall, good neighbors propose three principles regarding US foreign policy. The first step is
simple: in order to become a good neighbor, one must stop acting as a bad neighbor. Tactics, such as
bullying, exercising military force, and imposing rules and values on to others are the hallmarks of a bad
neighbor. Only by working collectively as a global community and respecting differences will states be
able to arrive at shared solutions to common problems. Another step is to de-link elite ideological,
military, or economic interests from the broadly defined interests of a democratic society. A third
principle is that policymakers must respect the reality that global interdependence characterizes the new
international structure. However, good neighbors are keen on reminding us that these are not new ideas
and are instead ideas first advanced by Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt.
Global neighbors contend that during the Cold War, the US, as the dominant power, committed
itself to a new international system whose aim was to bring the world’s nations together within a system
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Convention