Team America - World Police: Down-Home Theories of Power and Peace

In: Millennium: journal of international studies, Volume 34, Issue 2, p. 563-568

Abstract

In the movie Team America, a five-strong, world police, special forces unit takes on the task of foiling various terrorist enemies of the United State, international peace & security. This paper argues that Team America, made with puppet characters, offers a vehicle for understanding & interpreting today's dominant global security issues. In the movie, the special forces units are seemingly unaware of the devastation caused by their mission or the trauma it brings to the local population, like when the special forces unit destroys the Sphinx & the Pyramids. The central message of Team America is that the giant may not always be gentle, but that the meek need the giant to protect them from the big, bad wolves. In this way, the movie reflects a constructivist realist interpretation of international relations where security issues are defined by the intersubjective interaction of interests, ideas, & values, created in the face of necessity. R. Prince