unilateralism

Examples of unilateralism in the following topics:

• The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

  • Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action.
  • Advocates of U.S. unilateralism argue that other countries should not have "veto power" over matters of U.S. national security.
  • Proponents of U.S. unilateralism generally believe that a multilateral institution, such as the United Nations (UN), is morally suspect because, they argue, it treats non-democratic, and even despotic, regimes as being as legitimate as democratic countries.
  • Unilateral elements were evident in the first months of Bush's presidency.
  • Conservative Charles Krauthammer, coiner of the term "Bush Doctrine," deployed "unilateralism" in February of 2001 to refer to the president's foreign policy.

• The Nixon Shock

  • In May 1971, inflation-wary West Germany was the first member country to unilaterally leave the Bretton Woods system — unwilling to devalue the Deutsche Mark in order to prop up the dollar.
  • On August 9, 1971, as the dollar dropped in value against European currencies, Switzerland unilaterally withdrew the Swiss franc from the Bretton Woods system.

• Foreign Policies

  • One of his first acts was to order the unilateral removal of all nuclear weapons from South Korea and announce his intention to cut back the number of U.S. troops stationed there.
  • The Camp David Accords left Egypt, formerly a leading regional power, ostracized by other Arab countries, who criticized Egypt's concessions to Israel and Egypt's arrogance in speaking unilaterally for Jordan and Palestine.

• Crisis in Berlin

  • The three powers replied that no unilateral treaty could abrogate their responsibilities and rights in West Berlin, including the right of unobstructed access to the city.

• Washington's Farewell

  • Furthermore, he argued that unlike the political systems of Europe, the republican nature of the United States was a political structure that required unilateralism (independent action in foreign affairs) because American leaders were responsible to the will of the people.

• The Coercive Acts

  • The Massachusetts Government Act provoked even more outrage than the Port Act because it unilaterally altered the government of Massachusetts to bring it under control of the British government.

• The Structure of the Government

  • On the other hand, delegates from small states demanded a system of equal representation, whereby the amount of representatives from each state, regardless of population size, would be numerically fixed and applied unilaterally.

• The United Nations

  • However, the mission was only initiated after the US intervened unilaterally in a civil war between leftist and conservative factions.