Master's Theses

Department

Political Science

Degree Name

Master of Liberal Studies (MLS)

Abstract

The use of war pretext in foreign policy has been studied for decades. Several theories have established how pretext are used to manage public opinions about war. Arguably, the U.S. government uses pretext to obscure the awkwardness of justifying aggressive or offensive activities to the public. U.S. accusations of Iran’s development of nuclear weapons give justification for imposing economic sanctions, but it is an act of war. Public Law 112-158 penalizes states that pay Iran for its oil. Given its current economic weakness, the U.S. government must wield its military power to retain its global preeminence. Oil that is not traded in dollars threatens to collapse the U.S. economic system and the dollar’s dominance as the world’s currency. This paper contends that Public Law 112-158 is a war pretext to escalate plans to attack Iran. The U.S. government is ultimately fighting for its continued hegemonic existence.

Keywords

Iran, sanctions, nuclear proliferation, nuclear weapons, hegemony

Advisor

Dr. Chapman Rackaway

Date of Award

Spring 2014

Document Type

Thesis

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

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