Swift, Effective, and Genuine: US Foreign Disaster Relief for a Grand Strategy of Restraint

Abstract

In dictating greater focus on soft power and urging reductions to the American overseas military presence, a new grand strategy of restraint may pose a viable alternative to Washington’s foreign policy shortcomings, though garners criticism for a lack of specificity and depth. The purpose of this thesis, then, is to articulate a new central mission of restraint through rapid deployment disaster relief. To assess if relief could be an effective centerpiece of restraint, this thesis analyzes a primary case study of relief in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, followed by two supplementary case studies of Pakistan and Japan, considering both humanitarian and strategic impacts. It then contrasts public diplomacy and relief efforts with hard power strategies of militarized interventions and overseas bases. Selected cases and comparisons indicate that swift, effective, and genuine disaster relief efforts are successful in winning “hearts and minds” and securing US interests abroad with minimal expense. This thesis therefore urges an American commitment to expanded and reinvigorated disaster relief efforts as a new central mission of restraint.