Verified Document

Lying In International Relations Essay

Lying in International Relations What are your thoughts on lying in international relations?

International relations can be a very complicated issue and the relationships can be tenuous and easily broken if not handled correctly. The importance of a solid relationship cannot be underestimated. Countries with which a nation has a good relationship will be a source of economic support in terms of trade and lending of funds, a sharer of technological progression, as well as a potential ally in times of strife. It is the hope that when countries are building a relationship, there will be a level of honesty between the governments. However there will always be certain secrets which a nation's government should never share to a country and indeed with nations where there is a history of mistrust or dubious actions, it is even less prudent to share top-secret information. Some people naively state that "honesty is the best policy" and other such idiomatic proverbs but that simply does not prove to be wise in terms of international relations. There are occasions wherein it is far better for the security of the nation to lie to other countries.

On the whole, it is good to be as honest as possible with our ally nations but to keep in mind always the protection of the citizens of one's own country before all else. If sharing information could in any way lead to foreseeable dangers to the population, then the government should not relay that data. The relationship that the countries have with one another historically will largely determine how much honesty is bestowed upon them (Urpelainen 2011,-page 118). During the Second World War, the United States was allied with the Soviet Union but because of the history of discord between the two nations, the American government gave far less information to Soviet forces than were given to England which was regarded as a more honest and trustworthy ally. Such discretion is based upon the assumption that once the common enemy is removed, then the two countries will return to their adversarial relationship, which is exactly what happened between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Historically it has been shown that lying is...

One historical example springs instantly to mind. In the First World War, the United States military was able to equip their aircraft with advanced navigation and targeting equipment that allowed American planes to stealthily shoot down enemy German aircraft with ease. Rather than admit that the country was in possession of this advanced technology, pilots were encouraged to attribute their skills to good eyesight. This is just one example of the benefit of lying in international politics. During the Second World War, the British had found out that German were had learned to crack one of their radio codes and instead of abandoning this system, used it to hand over false information to the enemy. This is not necessarily lying, but it is certainly deliberately dishonest methodology. In times of war, countries have used dishonesty as a means of keeping the enemy off guard and in preventing them from being able to learn the strengths of the opposing militia.
Another form of international lying which is arguably more controversial is when a government imposes a form of action for one set of reasons when they actually have another motive for them (UChicago 2012). A specific item that comes to mind is the issue of international sanctions which have been placed on countries like Iraq by the United States. Supposedly the reasons for such actions are the crimes against humanity which have been perpetrated by the nation. There are currently sanctions in place against Iran because of the belief that Iran is progressing with a nuclear program which the United States and other countries are wholly against. Sanctions are designed to force a nation to cease a course of actions because their citizens will be negatively impacted through lack of necessities (Lektzian 2001,-page 62). Many people however assert that the real reason for such actions is not fear over a nuclear program or international disputes, but because of the interests of the sanctioning nation. In Iran, the United States wants oil and so they have an ulterior motive for imposing sanctions which are not clearly stated by the government. This is omission of fact rather than an…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

Klitgaard, R. (1998). International cooperation against corruption. Finance and Development.

(35:1). Pro-Quest. 3-6.

Lektzian, D. & Sova, M. (2001). Institutions and international cooperation: an event history analysis of the effects of economic sanctions. The Journal of Conflict Resolution. (45:1). ProQuest Central. 61-79.

UChicago. (2012, March 1). Why leaders lie: the truth about lying in international politics.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPe5f5dcrGE
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

International Regulation of Tourism in Antarctica
Words: 19613 Length: 75 Document Type: Term Paper

International Regulation of Tourism in Antarctica Since the mid-1980s, Antarctica has been an increasingly popular tourist destination, despite the relative danger of visiting the largest, least explored -- and arguably least understood -- continent on earth. Beginning with the 1959 treaty establishing Antarctica as an international zone free of claims of sovereignty by nation's that had been instrumental in establishing research stations there, there has been almost constant negotiation about how

Anticipatory Self Defence in International
Words: 10179 Length: 33 Document Type: Term Paper

Of course, the timeline for the defensive line of attack or its initiation during the armed assault is also a determinant of whether the line of attack can be called defensive or a new attack. A good example of this could have been 9/11 where the U.S. government could have reacted with an armed line of self-defensive attacks if they feared that the first attack on the World trade

Object Relation, Attachment Theories, And
Words: 26278 Length: 90 Document Type: Dissertation

S., experts estimate the genuine number of incidents of abuse and neglect ranges three times higher than reported. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006) in light of these critical contemporary concerns for youth, this researcher chose to document the application of Object Relation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology to clinical practice, specifically focusing on a patient who experienced abuse when a child. Consequently, this researcher contends this clinical case study dissertation proves

Public Relations Has Successfully Distanced
Words: 2106 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

In creating a brand it is impossible for Pr campaigns to lie. People however tend to divide PR in good and bad. A PR campaign trying to convince people to wear the seatbelt fastened while driving is considered good, a PR campaign trying to discredit a political candidate's opponents is considered bad. If the former case is pretty clear, the latter one makes s wonder where the border between

Torture and Abuse of Gays
Words: 9056 Length: 25 Document Type: Term Paper

These responsibilities notwithstanding, the American public was already being conditioned to view the war in Iraq as a battle against extremists, that is, against the Islamist radicals who had threatened the "American" way" of life on September 11, 2001. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson had already inflamed America's own Christian fundamentalists with talk that the terrible events of that day were to blame in part on "the gays and

Classic Antiquities Stopping Looting of Classic Greek
Words: 2413 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Classic Antiquities Stopping Looting of Classic Greek and Roman Underwater Antiquities Sites Cultural artifacts that both describe how a group of people lived and demonstrates the art they contrived is precious to the people who consider themselves present members of that culture or, at the very least, are residents of the nation from which the culture originated. Unfortunately, the removal and sale of these artifacts has a long history, and the trade

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now