Paradigmata americké zahraniční politiky aneb legitimace moci pomocí „Mnichova“ a „Vietnamu“

Abstract

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that all American administrations since 1945 justified the usage of the American armed forces by making an analogy with either the experience of the Second World War (“the Munich Paradigm”), or the experience of the Vietnam War (“the Vietnam Paradigm”). Those two wars represent crucial turning points in the development of the US foreign policy. They contributed to the creation of two models of the decision making process, which changes approximately every 20 years, when a new generation of Americans gains power. Internationalists favour foreign interventions, because they believe it is the best way to keep America safe from threats. Isolationists, on the other hand, reject pro-active foreign policy and do not believe that America should play the role of the world’s policeman. So far, almost all American presidents since 1945 followed the Munich analogy and only two followed the Vietnam analogy.