U.S. intervention in Grenada, Panama, and Haiti
Subtitle: a social constructionist perspective
By:  Julie Johnette O'Neal
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 144
Description: This thesis uses social constructionisim to examine the motives for U.S. intervention in Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), and Haiti (1994). Content analysis is applied to news editorials, Congressional in-session remarks and Presidential addresses, remarks, and press conferences to link national rhetoric to U.S. intervention policy. The case studies identify a shift in the pattern of debate within and between the American public and policy makers simultaneous with the end of the Cold War. Review of the case studies suggests that in the future U.S. policy makers must contend with an intervention policy characterized by: (a) multilateralism; (b) vague, mutable national interests; (c) obstructionist Congressional procedures; and (d) an intolerance for casualties. Alone, the information provided by rhetoric is incomplete, but when combined with analysis of the external variables that affect the actions of states, the results are a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic nature of U.S. foreign policy and an insight into the nature of interventions in the post Cold War world.
Notes: Thesis advisor(s): Dana Eyre.

"December 1995."

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1995.

Bibliography: p. 139-141.

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