Comparison of security policy of the United States of America, Great Britain, France, and Germany

Security policy of the USA, Great Britain, France, and Germany. Factors of security policy: geographical abilities, geographical environment, geo-political situation and historical traditions of the country, strategy culture, self-definition and relative power of the country, global and regional security environment. Changes of security policy after lltn September 2001 in New York.

The author after examining the security policy of the USA, Great Britain, France, and Germany states that there are considerable differences in the security policy of the USA and their European partners, allies that evidently showed up during the war against Iraq.

One of the very important reasons of the differences can be found in historical experience and in the events after the Second World War. The USA neither had to face direct threat from the side of strong neighbours, nor the country’s domestic and security policy had to count with considerable enemy in its direct geo-political environment. Consequently, the American strategy culture is much more “free” – comparing it with the European.

The new direction of the USA’s security policy after the terrorist attack on 11th September 2001 in New York and later after the Iraq war can be viewed as the reaction of the only super-power on the changed security environment and on the new security challenges. In the future the USA in order to protect its safety will not hesitate to elude even international obligations or UN, if they would hinder the USA in taking steps that were judged to be unnecessary.

Great Britain has evident advantages of the “special relations” with the United States. The country’s weigh is much higher thanks to the relationships with the USA, although consequently the potential lost of the British identity is a threat in the field of security policy. France strives to remain one of the independent participants of international relations. Although, it is questionable if France’s sources are sufficient for gaining this independence – mainly if they try to define their situation as an alternative towards the USA.

For the German security policy the biggest challenge is the definition of a clear orientation. Germany does not have a wide-scale of national conception about its future, as France or Great Britain. In consequence of historical experience and geo-political realities it has almost no chance to have a clear “German conception”; the Germans have to choose from the two orientations.