International Security

Abstract

The disappearance of Cold War bipolarity has fundamentally changed the dynamics of international security. In this chapter, I portray the United States left alone without its major competitor, the Soviet Union, wavering between multilateralism and unilateralism, and easily constrained by domestic actors, narrow special interests and moody public opinion. During the Cold War, the two superpowers were compelled to get involved in most regional conflicts due to their global competition. Their rivalry often caused and complicated local conflicts, as they intervened directly or supported proxy wars in such diverse areas as Vietnam, Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia and Nicaragua. But the superpowers also played the role of de facto world policemen, providing security guarantees throughout the world. In the post- Cold War world, however, both Russia and the United States have often disengaged from regional affairs, especially when no significant strategic interest has existed. They have taken a more selective approach to their regional security commitments, and frequently pursued a policy of benign neglect towards remote local conflicts. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.