In An American World

The United States of America is considered the sole superpower in the world. Given its complexity and nuance, most people acknowledge this fact without explaining what that means or its implications globally and domestically. This is an introductory article for a series discussing American foreign policy - where we are, where we have been, and where we are going.

The American Sphere of Influence

The map above represents the United States and its active military treaties, alliances, and partnership arrangements. Each will be highlighted below and will be expanded on in future articles. I will summarize some of the international bodies that shape American foreign policy.

NATO

Founded: April 4, 1949

The North Atlanta Treaty Organization (NATO) is a defense military alliance of 30 countries located in Europe and North America. Its headquarters is in Brussels and is ran jointly by a command within the US Military – the Supreme Commander of Europe and a European counterpart - Secretary-General. This is a core structure of American power projection, and its most important feature is its ability to coordinate the combined power of both continents for military operations. Article V is its most important component, which is an attack on one is an attack on all .

Five Eyes

Founded: August 14, 1941

The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.

US Military Bases

The map represents countries with US Armed Forces military installations. An "installation" is defined as "a military base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including leased space, that is controlled by, or primarily supports DoD's activities. An installation may consist of one or more sites" Approximately 15% of the US Military is deployed overseas at any given time.

Compact of Free Association

Founded: November 13, 1986

The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau. This arrangement provides financial assistance to the COFA in exchange for the military protection.

Organization of America States

Founded: April 30, 1948

The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization that was formed for the purposes of solidarity and co-operation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in the US capital, Washington, DC, the OAS has 35 members.