Power in international relations

The United States must recognize once again, and permanently, that the power constellation in Europe and Asia is of everlasting concern to her, both in time of war and in time of peace. The U.S. will continue to depend primarily on its own national strength, for the failure of a great state to consider power means its eventual destruction and conquest. It has meant the downfall of all the empires that have been tempted by the flabby ease of unpreparedness. States are always engaged in curbing the force of some other state.

In a world of international anarchy, foreign policy must aim above all at the improvement or at least the preservation of the relative power position of the state. Power is in the last instance the ability to wage successful war, and in geography lay the clues to the problems of military and political strategy. The territory of a state is the base from which it operates in time of war and the strategic position which it occupies during the temporary armistice called peace. Geography is the most fundamental factor in the foreign policy of states because it is the most permanent. Sound foreign policy, and the design of its effecting instruments, can flow only from a secure grasp of appropriate premises for thought, declaration, and action.

There are many possible frameworks for the attempted understanding of international relations; all are not of equal worth for the comprehension of the more important features of world political processes. The academic study of international relations has taken off into self-sustained growth in a direction very largely irrelevant to what one must call the real world. This easily-demonstrated fact does not detract from the importance of other processes, sometimes only distantly related, that are eroding familiar structures in international relations.

(1829)

ELECTIONS

The US Constitution includes some general provisions on the franchise. It sets forth certain requirements for candidates running for a post of a president, vice-president, senator or member of the House of Representatives. Requirements usually concern age, residence and citizenship. The candidates who meet all these requirements are considered eligible for office. A residence qualification requires a permanent residence of an individual in order to get the right to vote. The duration of the residence qualification is, in general, a few months though it may substantially vary from state to state.

Besides, some states have the so-called literacy qualification (the voter should be able to read and speak English, he (she) must know how to interpret the US Constitution, etc. And at last it should be mentioned that in some states a poll tax is levied upon everyone who votes and this certainly discourages poor citizens and Negroes from voting. In this context, it is not surprising that not all the Americans participate in elections, including congressional or presidential elections.

The voters are registered by clerks of counties or towns and by local election commissions. When registering, the voter must produce an identification card. This is done to prevent fraud. The administration of elections is vested in an election commission which ordinarily is composed of two commissioners, one representing each of the major parties, and a third ex officio member, usually a sheriff, a county judge, or a clerk. Prior to holding primary or general election, the commission appoints election officers for each precinct and also arranges for polling places. After the ballots have been cast, they are counted and the results obtained are tabulated and returned to the election commission. (1862)

Appendix I