Journal of International Studies

Much is being said and written about the impact of the government closure and debt crisis on everything from workers’ salaries, to the availability of statistics that are critical for the management of businesses and farms, to the slowing of economic growth, to the weakening of America’s overall financial position at home and abroad. There has been far less focus on effect of the Washington stalemate on American national security, not merely in terms of the size, shape and composition of the defense budget, but, more generally, on international perceptions of American stability and reliability in light of the scorched earth policies of the Tea Party and its Congressional sympathizers. It is not just that foreign diplomats, officials and analysts echo a common question and a uniform manta about what has been going on in Washington, the question being, “what is wrong with you people” and the mantra, “you have all gone mad.” It is that the ability of the military to engage with its co...

The West is currently fighting a new type of political disease: the tyranny of the minority. This tyranny is a direct threat to the democratic system of the US, France and other European countries. In the US, the Tea Party is hurting an entire country; while in Europe, the extreme right in France, Italy, Britain, Greece among others are affecting the entire stability of the political system, and ultimately democracy. In the case of the US, the US government has been shutdown after the Congress – Senate and House – have failed to come up with an agreement on the new budget. The rational for such decision is a minority of politicians do not like green eggs, meaning the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. The extreme portion of the Republican party led by Ted Cruz among others, falling under the Tea Party, have expressed since the election of President Obama in 2008 their fear of the US government. Their vision, Michael McAuliff embedded in libertarianism, consists in fi...