Basics of American Politics: A Short Guide to U.S. Political System and Foreign Relations Current Events

By May Safa Salha

This is the actual title I couldn't fit it
BASICS OF AMERICAN POLITICS: A Short Guide to U.S. Political System
Current Events and Case Studies
This book explains American politics in simple terms. It is a manual that discusses the U.S. political system as well as U.S. foreign policy focusing on case studies from current events all over the world. Each section is written like a straightforward uncomplicated lesson. The book is simple, short and factual. The book is also designed to be read quickly for the purpose of gaining knowledge about American internal politics and external geopolitical relationships.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543953855

Book preview

Basics of American Politics

Copyright © 2018 by May Safa Salha

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN (Print Edition): 978-1-54395-384-8

ISBN (eBook Edition): 978-1-54395-385-5

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

—Benjamin Franklin

Table of Contents

Prologue

Introduction

I. The U.S. Constitution

II. U.S. Government

III. U.S. Political Parties and Elections

IV. Our Neighbors: Canada and Mexico

V. Our Nato Allies: Great Britain, France and Germany

VI. Russia

VII. The Arab–Israeli Conflict

VIII. Saudi Arabia and Iran

IX. Crisis in The Levant: Syria and Iraq

X. The Far East: China, Japan and The Koreas

XI. Afghanistan, Pakistan and India: Friends or Foes?

Conclusion: America’s Role in The World Today

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Prologue

As a lifetime student of politics and more specifically world affairs, I took it for granted that my passion for the complex geopolitical relationships existing in the world today was shared by all. I was wrong.

I remind myself that not everyone is obsessed with history and current events. People have other areas of knowledge and expertise. They excel in their own fields. But I can’t help noticing the gaps. In my head, I am constantly correcting flaws.

Just the other night, I met this accomplished doctor at a charity fundraiser. When he asked me where I’m from—yes, I get asked that question ten times a day. I can’t seem to get rid of the accent—I said I am an American citizen of Lebanese descent. He asked me where exactly Lebanon was. It’s north of Israel. I answered more of his questions. No, we don’t have deserts and camels. Sure there was war, but it’s been over for decades. I was slightly surprised by the simple lack of information coming from such a highly educated man.

I get asked regularly by my friends to clarify the Arab-Israeli conflict because it’s so complicated and hard to follow for them. Who do we root for? Can I explain it in simple terms please? And I do, and they listen. How about Islam, always in the news? What’s the difference between Sunnis and Shiites? Which one is ISIS? Which one is Iran? Who are the terrorists from America’s point of view? How about Pakistan? Is it in the Middle East? Are Pakistanis Arabs? And so on.

These are daily occurrences for me. Americans who forgot their history lessons or who are not current on present-day news. I also get asked a lot about American politics. Mostly by my Canadian or French or Lebanese friends. Why didn’t Hillary Clinton win the presidency? Didn’t she get more votes? Why do you allow guns in your country? What’s the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? I find myself often explaining American politics in very simple terms. The way a teacher would explain it in a middle-school classroom.

A few months ago a bulb lit in my head. Most people don’t know much regarding current affairs and not for lack of intelligence or education but simply for lack of knowledge on this particular subject. We live in times where nonfiction reading is less and less popular. Who has time to read scholastic books regularly? We want instant gratification, like getting our news online, even though we know it’s not always factual. The result is a big mush of information attacking our brain.

So I decided to find a remedy. A kind of compromise. I decided to write a short handbook, more like a manual, where I talk about a variety of current events, each one of them discussed in a very short and straight-to-the-point section, all revolving around America and its relationships with other countries of the world. Each section is written like a straightforward uncomplicated lesson. Simple, short and factual.

Every section is totally independent from the others, where the reader can decide to learn about one topic and not choose to read all the others. What’s the compromise again? It’s not a long detailed book, yet it’s more comprehensive and factual than online information in general. This manual is designed to be read quickly for the purpose of gaining factual knowledge about our internal politics and external relations without the pressure of research. That’s my compromise.

So I wrote it, as you can guess, fairly fast. I pretended I was answering those questions I get asked most days. I made my kids read it. Then I asked my husband and my close friends to read it, and they all found it easy to understand and enlightening. I avoided personal opinions (which I’m known for) and stuck to facts. Yet I wanted to engage the reader. So I decided to end every section with some food for thought, with a few pros and cons to bring the topic to a close and to make the reader think about what was discussed.

If I have to describe this book in one sentence, I would say, it’s a short simplified review of America and its geopolitical relationships—for those who would like to understand certain subjects without the inconvenience of going through a long complicated study.

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

—Kofi Annan

Introduction

This work focuses on the United States of America and its strategic relationships with other nations in different parts of the world.

It is natural to begin our quest for knowledge with the internal workings of government and the founding principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The United States has a unique responsibility for upholding and advancing those principles not only towards its citizens but all over the world. In the words of Thomas Paine The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. We can not fully grasp our position in the world today and our relationships around the globe if we do not have a solid understanding of our internal structures. In this context, the first three sections will be devoted to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. government and the electoral process.

From the beginning, the purpose of U.S. foreign policy has been to defend the American constitutional system and push forward the interests of the American people. The next eight sections will therefore focus on the United States’ external relations and geopolitical interactions in different parts of the world. I have carefully selected the regions that are relevant to current events and affecting U.S. policy today. This is not to imply that other areas of the world have less importance; I have simply attempted to narrow the scope of a study that is already far-reaching. In this context, I started with our neighbours, then moved towards our most impactful allies. I also focused on our main competitors on the global stage, our open enemies, and of course, on the international conflicts that have impacted the second half of the twentieth century till the present-day. Each nation or region of the world is briefly introduced for the purpose of clarity in a short historical overview, then examined in relation to U.S. foreign policy.

At the end of every section I added some food for thought in order to challenge our thinking process and debate our newly-acquired knowledge.

The last section naturally focuses on America’s position in the world and the new challenges it faces in today’s changing domestic and global dynamics.

Finally, it is important to note that the United States has always had a unique understanding of governing because its foreign policy is accountable to the American people. The basic premise has always been the implementation of liberty and justice within but also for others around the world. Hopefully, this short book will shed the light on those values of our Constitution and their effect on international relations today.

We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, ‘We, the people.’

—Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I.

The U.S. Constitution

I will start our political enlightenment process with the Constitution of the United States. Simply because it is the supreme law of the land. If we do not understand the basic principles written in the Constitution, we will not grasp who we are as Americans. Obviously, for the purpose of this book, I will not go into Constitutional law or