American Security Strategy And Its Security Concept Since Cold War

As the only super power, the security strategies of the United States and its security concept have an important influence on the international security. This thesis has analyzed the security strategies of the United States after World War II and the characteristics of its security concept.The first section has summed up the security environment faced by the United States after the Cold War as well as its estimation of the security environment.The second section has summarized the security strategies of the United States after the Cold War. During the Cold War, American security strategies focused on the martial security. It regarded the Soviet Union as its main rival and tried to scrabble for the supremacy in the whole world with "deterrence and containment" as its foremost strategies. The policies of deterrence and containment were the major strategies employed by the United States to confront with the Socialist countries, which were leaded by the Soviet Union. With the end of the Cold War, the United States became the only super power. The change of the international environment resulted in the change of its national interests and also its security strategy. After the Cold War "preemption and precautionary defense" became the central security strategy of the United States. Since Cold War, America has adopted the strategies of containment, alignment, nuke deterrence, arms race, preemptive measures and democratic expansion to achieve the supremacy.The third section has analyzed the security concept of the United States and its characteristics. The brief yet splendid history, advantaged geographical environment as well as its powerful economic strength has endowed America with its unique security concept. America has mixed together many kinds of values and has formed its stalwart national spirit, its idea of heaven-sent mission and initiative in the course of the exploitation of the new Continent. This has endowed its security concept with particular history and culture basis. The United States has laid much emphasis on ideology, whichis a very important factor to define its menace. Geopolitics is an important base point of American security concept and it has played a very important role in Cold War. It has not only guided the competition between America and the Soviet Union but also programmed the overall situation of the security strategies of the United States after the Cold War. Idealism and Realism is the significant theoretical guide of American security concept. It has not only shaped such peace modes as the supremacy peace and the democracy peace but also the pursuit of power in the American security concept. Party politics and interest groups are also important characteristics of American security concept.The American security concept has been in face of many conflicts and plights since the Cold War. The United States tries to pursuit absolute security in an anarchy world without security. And this goal cannot be achieved because of the conflict of its tactics and policies. In fact, if the United States doesn't consider its tactics and policies in a deep level, it can't change the plight of being persecuted by terrorism. Now, the United States uses aggressive realism to supervise its security concept, yet its sustainability is still doubtful. The United States attempts to maintain security by establishing a new empire, which is different from Rome. Yet its cost and the revolt caused by it resulted in the wreckage of the legend of the empire.