Causes of War

Causes of War

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Launched in 1980 by the Carter administration and signed in 1987 by the Reagan administration, INF was a landmark US-Soviet arms-control agreement that banned land-based missiles with a range of 310 miles to 3,400 miles. It led to the destruction of thousands of missiles, lowered tensions in Europe and contributed to the end of the Cold War.

Now pretend you are the newly appointed 28th National Security Advisor of the United States (you are John Bolton’s replacement). As a policy expert who has clearly proclaimed the supremacy of the US national interest, what is your best advice you would like to give to President Trump regarding his decision of withdrawal from the INF treaty? Unfortunately, the international security literature does not provide a single answer to this debate.

Your answers will be judged by how well you:

1. A) Explain your opinion with the theoretical support from your favorite IR perspective. You can choose any war theory provided in the Word document below.
2. B) Identify potential opportunities and dangers caused by President Trump’s decision in terms of the US national interest.
3. C) Carefully lay out your key arguments.
4. D) Explore whether your advice is actually consistent with your choice of theory

The essay should be written in small paragraphs. It doesn’t need to have a work cited but just citation in the text. Short parenthetical citations are sufficient Example: (Waltz, 1979), to know where the information comes from.
Good answers will make cogent arguments, will use and cite scholars and schalarship liberally, and will use real-world examples as needed.