Cowboy diplomacy is a term used by critics to describe the resolution of international conflicts through brash risk-taking,
intimidation
Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...
, military deployment, or a combination of such tactics. It is criticized as stemming from an overly simple,
dichotomous
A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be
* jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and
* mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simult ...
world view. Overtly provocative
phraseology
In linguistics, phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units (often collectively referred to as ''phrasemes''), in which the component parts of the expression tak ...
typically centralizes the message.
One of the earliest known applications of the term was in 1902, when it was used by the American press to describe
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's foreign policies. Roosevelt had at the time summarized his approach to international diplomacy as "Speak softly and carry a big stick", an adage that was engraved on a bronze plaque on
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
's office desk in the Pentagon and has set the modern precedent.
[History Debunks Bush Myth]
by Jim Lobe
The term has since also been applied to the presidential administrations of
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
,
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, and
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
.
See also
*
Foreign policy of the United States
*
Criticism of U.S. foreign policy
*
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to th ...
References
External links
*
Allen, Mike &
Ratnesar, Romesh (July 9, 2006)
"The End of Cowboy Diplomacy: Why George W. Bush's Grand Strategy for Remaking the World Had to Change" ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''.
"Cowboy Diplomacy Is Not Dead Yet"by
Jim Lobe
Jim Lobe (born January 4, 1949) is an American journalist and the Washington Bureau Chief of the international news agency Inter Press Service.
Bio
In 1970, Lobe graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in Williamstown (Massachusetts). He r ...
*
Froomkin, Dan (August 7, 2006)
"This is Diplomacy?" ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''.
*Petroski, Willia
"Richardson: Ditch cowboy diplomacy" ''
Des Moines Register
''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa.
History Early period
The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...
''
{{Diplomacy
Foreign policy doctrines
Presidency of George W. Bush
History of the foreign relations of the United States
1902 in international relations
Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt