Keywords
United States, Saudi Arabia, human rights, soft power, hard power
Disciplines
International Relations
Mentor
Thomas Walker
Abstract
The controversial state of Saudi Arabia lies at the forefront of American foreign policy debate. This article examines how and why the United States supports a country that frequently abuses human rights, and how power is involved in that decision. The most frequent reasons used are that Saudi Arabia affords the United States economic hard power (i.e. the ability to coerce others) as a trading partner, and that it acts as a strategic counterbalance to Iranian influence in the Middle East. I find that while this is likely true, it also implicates the United States in almost every violation of human rights by Saudi Arabia. This has made the United States look unwilling or unable to live up to the ideals that make it attractive to others. In doing so, it has become less preferable, especially in the Middle East, to “be American”. This points to a decrease in the United States’ soft power, or its ability to persuade others into doing what it wants them to do.
ScholarWorks Citation
Daniels, JD, "How Support for Authoritarian Regimes Like Saudi Arabia has Undermined American Soft Power" (2021). Honors Projects. 824.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/824
