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Paul Poast
@ProfPaulPoast
, 14 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
This video is making the rounds.

One (understandable) reaction I've seen: 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I'll take it seriously and ask, "what is a `broken window' foreign policy and how would it work?"

[THREAD]
Admittedly, the video is a bit vague on defining a "broken window" in international politics.

It lumps territorial invasion (Crimea), chemical weapon use in the midst of civil war (Syria), and genocide in the midst of war (Rwanda; Srebrenica in Yugoslavia).
Stephens' book might be more insightful

books.google.com/books?id=nt7ZC…
On page 218, he writes
Okay, so that's basically what he also said in the video. But the next paragraph is more enlightening
Ah, I see. So just as windows are small parts of a neighborhood street, small states are a small part of a region.

So, the theory goes, we can't let transgressions in or to small states -- even ones without a clear national interest -- go without a (limited) response.
The idea behind the theory is that by blowing up some assets of an aggressor of small states (or vulnerable groups within a state), this will deter the next aggressor.

Sounds very 👇
I identify (at least) four problems with this theory:
1) Seems that mission creep could set in very fast ("We have to keep `police' on this beat because windows keep breaking").

For example, didn't US involvement in Vietnam start off with a similar limited aim?
2) Who defines the "norms" being violated? What about the norm of "territorial integrity" and "sovereignty"? Just War theorists are still debating this issue:

oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/o…
3) Is it just cases of killing? Are we invoking R2P? Unless I'm mistaken, R2P doesn't have the best reputation (as it has been susceptible to abuse)

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.117…
4) Would it work? Would it actually deter "bad apples" in the future? Given that "broken window" policing was debunked (and given that it would rely on the US to be `ever vigilant'), I'm not so sure.

npr.org/2016/11/01/500…
That's just a snapshot of the possible issues with Stephen's theory. For more, see this 2015 piece by @dandrezner

washingtonpost.com/posteverything…
In short, after taking time to think through the "broken window" theory of US foreign policy, I can understand why people are reacting with 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[END]
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Paul Poast
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