Phrase that suggests that military power can help preserve peace
"Peace through strength" is aphrase that suggests thatmilitarypower can help preservepeace. It has been used by many leaders fromRoman EmperorHadrian in the second century AD to formerUS PresidentRonald Reagan in the 1980s. The concept has long been associated withrealpolitik.[1] The idea has critics, withAndrew Bacevich stating,"'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war.'"
The phrase and the concept date to ancient times.Roman EmperorHadrian (AD 76–138) is said to have sought "peace through strength or, failing that, peace through threat."[2]Hadrian's Wall was a symbol of the policy.[3]
There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.[6]
InFederalist No. 24,Alexander Hamilton argued for peace through strength by stating that strong garrisons in the west and a navy in the east would help to deter potential conflicts with Britain, Spain and various Native American peoples.[7]
Peace Through Strength is the motto of theEighth Air Force, established in 1944.
DuringBarry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign in the United States, theRepublican Party spent about $5 million on TV ads promoting Goldwater's foreign policy position of "Peace through Strength."[10] PresidentGerald Ford alluded to the concept in his1977 State of the Union Address.[11] In 1980,Ronald Reagan, who had campaigned for Goldwater in 1964, used the phrase during his election challenge againstJimmy Carter by accusing the incumbent of weak, vacillating leadership that invited enemies to attack the United States and its allies.[12][13] Reagan later considered it one of the mainstays of his foreign policy as president.[14] In 1986, he explained it thus:
We know that peace is the condition under which mankind was meant to flourish. Yet peace does not exist of its own will. It depends on us, on our courage to build it and guard it and pass it on to future generations. George Washington's words may seem hard and cold today, but history has proven him right again and again. "To be prepared for war," he said, "is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." Well, to those who think strength provokes conflict,Will Rogers had his own answer. He said of the world heavyweight champion of his day: "I've never seen anyone insultJack Dempsey."[15]
The approach has been credited for forcing theSoviet Union to lose the arms race and end the Cold War.[16] "Peace Through Strength" is the official motto of theNimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,USSRonald Reagan (CVN-76).[17]
On assuming office in January 2017,Donald Trump cited the idea of "Peace Through Strength" as central to his overall "America First" foreign policy.[31] As such the introduction to US National Defense Strategy of 2018 states: The US force posture combined with the allies will "preserve peace through strength." The document proceeds to detail what "achieving peace through strength requires."[32]
Lai Ching-te, the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), emphasized "peace through strength" even before he became president.[33] On June 19, 2024, president Lai reiterated that "peace must rely on strength, which is to say avoiding war by preparing for war to achieve peace".[34]
ForAndrew Bacevich, "belief in the efficacy of military power almost inevitably breeds the temptation to put that power to work. 'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war.'"[35]
The mock inversion "strength through peace" has been used on occasion to draw criticism to the militaristic system of diplomacy advocated by "peace through strength".[37] Ohio RepresentativeDennis Kucinich adopted the slogan "Strength Through Peace" during his 2008 presidential run as part of his platform as a peace candidate against theIraq War.[38]
During Reagan's presidency, the non-profitAmerican Security Council Foundation (ASCF) and its for-profit direct-mail provider, Communications Corporation of America, sought to influence United States foreign policy by promoting the idea, but after the Soviet collapse of 1991, ASCF fell into obscurity, and other organizations continued to promote the slogan.[39]The Heritage Foundation and theCenter for Security Policy (CSP) have also used the term in print.[40] The ASCF registered a trademark for the phrase in April 2011.[41] In September 2012, ASCF filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against CSP andFrank Gaffney,[42] prompting theWashington City Paper to ridicule ASCF's Director of Operations, Gary James, for editing the online encyclopediaWikipedia article titled 'Peace through strength' so that it was "drenched in ... ASCF references".[43] Following a counterclaim by the CSP alleging that the trademark application had been fraudulent, in August 2013 the ACSF announced that it had settled the lawsuit with the CSP and would cancel its trademark claim.[44]
^Martin Wainwright (14 March 2010)."Legions of sightseers attend Hadrian's Wall illumination".TheGuardian.com.Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2012.Designed as a symbol of Hadrian's contemporary-sounding policy of "peace through strength", the wall marked the northern frontier of the Roman empire.
^Jim George (June 2005). "Leo Strauss, Neoconservatism and US Foreign Policy: Esoteric Nihilism and the Bush Doctrine".International Politics.42 (2). Palgrave Macmillan:174–202.doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800106.S2CID143465538.
^"Peace Through Strength". United States Patent and Trademark Office. April 5, 2011.Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved15 September 2012.
