Critically assess the impact of the United Nations on American foreign policy.Discuss with respect to public attitudes toward foreign policy in the US and the way the US pursues its foreign policy objectives.

Critically assess the impact of the United Nations on American foreign policy . Discuss with respect to public attitudes toward foreign policy in the U .S . and the way the U .S . pursues its foreign policy objectives

Introduction

Foreign policy refers to the strategies that governments employ to guide their actions towards other countries . The U .S . foreign policy is founded on the principles of democracy and tenets liberalization (Goldstein , 2003 . The U .S . foreign policy takes into account issues of human rights , economic growth and development , terrorism and environmental degradation and addresses

them as challenges that can best be addressed through democracy in countries and institutions throughout the world (Goldstein , 2003 . The U .S . foreign policy has undergone significant transitions that match different historical periods in the world that include the World War I , the World War II , the Cold War , the post Cold War period and the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks

The United Nations and the United States are arguably the most influential players in the international system as well as in the global political economics as a whole . Having been formed with the main objective of promoting and achieving sustainable peace in the world , the United Nations remains the most dominant and most influential International Governmental Organization in the world (Roberts Kingsbury 1994 . In theoretical terms , the fundamental significance of the United Nations as well as the operational challenges faced by the institution are illustrated in the theory of realism which states that there is no world government , or political authority above the state a situation that ultimately reduces the international system to absolute anarchy with the absence of any overarching political body with the capacity to enforce law and among its members or nation states (Roberts Kingsbury 1994 . The realism theory stresses on the centrality of the state , or nation state as the ultimate political authority in the politics of the international system . As such , the overriding motive of all states is self-preservation through maximization of power , a characteristic that effectively transforms the international system of a war of all against all (Goldstein , 2003 . The realism theory further argues that stability is best achieved in the balance of power which can be achieved through increased interactions among states , with the most powerful country playing the role of a balancer (Goldstein , 2003 . Today , the U .S . is the most powerful country in the world and has effectively assumed the role of a balancer in the international system , with the United Nations serving as the overarching political body with capacity to enforce law and among its member states

Domestic Public Attitudes toward Foreign Policy in the United States

At the domestic level , the U .S . foreign policy enjoys a lot of support among the citizenry . According to a report by World Public Opinion .org a strong majority of U .S . citizens support of the U .S . involvement in the world . However , the number of U .S . citizens who feel disgruntled by the country ' foreign policies is...