SICARIO, MACHIAVELLIA- NISM OF NEOCONSERVATIVE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY - CECRI
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Numéro 3 - 27 juin 2018
SICARIO, MACHIAVELLIA-
NISM OF NEOCONSERVATIVE
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
Hugo LETEMPLE-DABAS
Graduate student - International Relations
Université catholique de Louvain
Technical Presenta- care of getting rid of the cartel mem- The subject and the way to show
tion bers, Alejandro captures a police- the dark side of federal agencies
man, a mule for the cartel, and forc- found Sicario to be compared with
Sicario is a 2015 American es him to drive to Alarcon’s house. Zero Dark Thirty (2012), directed by
movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve He also neutralizes Macer, who tried Kathryn Bigelow, which focused on
and written by Taylor Sheridan. to follow him in the tunnels. Graver the tracking and the execution of
The protagonist is Kate Macer, an then tells Kate the real goal of the Osama Bin Laden. It is interesting to
idealistic FBI agent from the Critical operation is to favor the Colombian show in this paper the similarities be-
Incident Response Group. During cartel Medelin to stabilize drug traf- tween the war on terror and the fight
an assault on a house suspected to ficking and eliminate the escalation against drug traffics, especially since
hide hostages for Mexican cartels, of violence at the border. Alejandro the 9/11 attack and the accession of
an explosion causes the death of takes care of eliminating Alarcon and the neoconservative doctrine in the
two of her officers. Kate’s superiors his family. His murder is a revenge Bush administration (2001-2009).
suggest her to take part in a special for the murder of his own family, The use of similar methods, which
task force of the Department of killed because he was a prosecutor includes relying heavily on military
Justice (DoD), led by Matt Graver, fighting Mexican drug cartels in Co- forces and establishing exceptional
charged to neutralize the Sonora lumbia. The film ends with Alejandro measures, has left us to wonder if the
cartel. While taking the plane to the threatening Kate Macer, forcing her “war on drugs” was more a question
task force base, Kate Macer meets to sign a document that certifies the of foreign policy than public health.
Alejandro, Graver’s partner, a mys- legality of the operation. As he goes Thereby, the links between drug traf-
terious contractor. After landing away, Kate aims her revolver on him fic and security threat could com-
on the El Paso Base, they head to but finally refuses to shoot. promise the noble ideals of nation-
Juarez with a team that includes US al health and focuses more on the
Marshalls, Drug Enforcement Ad- Considered as a critical success at theory of foreign policy developed
ministration (DEA) Agents and units its release1, the movie was especially since Machiavelli, focusing more on
of Delta Force Army, in order to cap- praised for Villeneuve’s direction, the the success of operations rather than
ture the brother of one lieutenant script and the performances from on the means put in place to achieve
of the cartel. During the final assault Emily Blunt (Kate Macer) and Benicio them. We will thus focus on how Si-
in the smuggling tunnels at the bor- del Toro (Alejandro). Despite a local cario manages to express Machiavel-
der, Kate Macer frontally opposes controversy in Mexico for the depic- li’s principles in the fight against drug
to Graver about the legality of the tion of the border between Mexico trafficking at the US-Mexican border,
operation. Graver explains she is just and the United States and the city and how the tensions of the Ameri-
a pretext for the setup of the oper- of Juarez2, Sicario allowed Director can society are represented through
ation. Since the CIA is not allowed Denis Villeneuve to affirm himself in the main characters, i.e. Kate Macer,
to operate on the American soil, her Hollywood after the thriller Prisoner Matt Graver and Alejandro.
FBI agent status was used as a legal (2013) and before the breakthrough
cover. While the task force is taking of Arrival (2016).
1
Sicario, Machiavel- are the Nobles: so that the People Vice-President Richard Cheney, Dep-
lianism and Neoconserva- placed in charge to guard the liberty uty Defense Secretary Paul Wolfow-
of anyone, reasonably will take better itz (who had Allan Bloom, a student
tism care of it; for not being able to take it of Leo Strauss, as a college teacher),
The popular culture rooted the away themselves, they do not permit and finally John Bolton, the Deputy
political thought of Machiavelli as a others to take it away.” 6 Secretary of State for International
way to preserve power in unscrupu- Security, were the main architects
The political framework of Sicar- of neoconservative foreign policy10.
lous or remorseful ways. We cannot io illustrates the tensions between
enumerate the amount of characters During the first Bush administration,
the necessity to accomplish the ob- they were the main preachers of pre-
depicted as “Machiavellian” in mov- jective of getting rid of the drug car-
ies, books or real life that were also ventive war, in order to prevent the
tels at the Mexican border, in order potential rise of enemies that would
established as “villains”. But when to assure the security of the United
we look a little bit closer, the political affect US strategic influence11. John
States, and the decisions taken in or- Bolton, considered as a “War Hawk”,
thought of Machiavelli is more the der to achieve this goal. This leads
result of the need for political lead- was especially involved in the Iraq in-
to tensions between Kate Macer, a tervention of 2003, and a strong ad-
ers to ensure first and foremost the young and idealist FBI recruit, and
security of their city, and the values vocate for military threats against the
Matt Graver, the leader of the task Iranian and North Korean regimes.
they defend3. These principles are force against the main perpetrators
the foundation of the realist theory The proponents of the neoconserva-
of these cartels. Screenwriter Taylor tive theory also have in common to
of International Relations. The world Sheridan, from the El Paso region,
is considered as an anarchic place express military conflicts with a sim-
has been deeply affected by the es- ple rhetoric (“you’re either with us,
without legitimate supranational au- calation of violence in the border
thority. Thus, the conflict between or against us” from president Bush
area as well as the involvement of US during the launch of his program
States is the only way for a political agents in this fight. It was especially a
leader to establish its domination against terrorism), and to insist on
female agent of the FBI he knew for the “internal” threat of the enemy in
and the protection of the so-called several months that inspired him to
national interests. In our analytical order to enforce the principles of for-
create the character of Kate Macer. eign policy on American soil itself 12.
framework, the work of Machiavel- This real-life based character was a
li does not underestimate the need non-negotiable condition for the di- This principle is important in the
to apply reason in the conduct of rector Denis Villeneuve, despite the decision-making process and the re-
foreign policy4. In his book The Dis- strong opposition from the produc- sponsibilities taken by the main char-
courses on the First Ten Books of Ti- tion of the film7. According to Taylor acters in Sicario. Machiavelli’s rheto-
tus Livy (1517), Machiavelli defends Sheridan, Sicario depicts the most ric, as much as the neoconservative
a more republican vision of the pow- violent period of fights against drug one, does not focus on ethical issues
er, based on the political morality of cartels in the late 2000s in the city but only on the success of actions.
the Roman republic. He develops the of Juarez. The methods of US agen- This is especially the case of Alejan-
necessity of virtù for the leaders. To cies, i.e. DEA, CIA or FBI, were greatly dro’s character in his ultimate goal.
assume the security of their territo- strengthened by the Bush adminis- It was because of his involvement as
ry, their military and political deci- tration, according to the neo-con- a committed prosecutor against the
sions must involve foresight, courage servative principles, following the drug cartels that he saw his family
and firmness5. Machiavelli insists on attacks of September 11th, 2001. One being murdered. He then became
freedom as a principle preserving of the examples in Sicario is the scene a hitman13 for the CIA, charged to
the Roman Republic. He also warns where Alejandro tortures Guiller- hunt the leaders of Mexican cartels.
against the possible decadence of a mo Diaz8 with the “water boarding” His morality is one of the questions
republican regime that would aban- method. This method has been prac- that has elicited the most questions
don itself by delegating the defense ticed by the CIA in many secret pris- from screenwriter Taylor Sheridan:
of the homeland to mercenaries, and ons around the world9. “Does this make him a bad man?
no longer to the people. By doing so, I do not know [...] He’s a volunteer,
dominant would show their obstina- Sharing the same representation for his own reasons “14. His mission
cy to retain their prerogatives and of the world and, more generally, of may be associated with Machiavelli’s
their privileges: international relations (namely an idea: “the greatness of a crime can
anarchic environment where each cover his infamy.” In The Discourse
“And without doubt, if the object State poses a threat to the other),
of the Nobles and of the Ignoble [pop- on Livy15, Machiavelli tells the story
the third-generation neoconserva- of Pope Julius II who decided to de-
ulace] is considered, it will be seen tives were greatly influenced by Ma-
that the former have a great desire to stroy all the tyrants who occupied
chiavelli’s supporters in foreign poli- the lands of the Church, by getting
dominate, and the latter a desire not cy The election of George W. Bush as
to be dominated and consequently a there almost alone. In itself, he com-
President in 2000 allowed them to be mitted the most important crime of
greater desire to live free, being less part of the decision-making process
hopeful of usurping it [liberty] than the Ten Commandments (“you shall
in the American foreign policy. The not kill”), but he did it in order to lib-
2erate the peoples who were exploit- intelligence agencies and thus avoids which they are selected, and usually
ed on religious grounds. This idea of them assuming diplomatic and polit- involve a willingness to return home
actions taken as criminal but guided ical responsibilities. One of the keys or leave as soon as possible. In Sicar-
by a larger consideration is the basis to the Cheney doctrine was to quietly io, this suspicion is illustrated right at
of American neoconservative think- release US forces from administrative the first meeting between Kate Mac-
ing. George Bush focused his political standards to ensure their effective- er and Alejandro on the plane26 that
program on the importance of Chris- ness20. brings them to their base in El Paso.
tian religious values in America, being The disturbing soundtrack and the
himself a “born again”, who rediscov- The strategy of freeing American presentation of Alejandro from the
ered the faith after several years of agents from any political restraint al- beginning as a mysterious and dark
alcoholism16. The American foreign lows them to perform their actions character, hidden behind sunglass-
policy of the Bush administration was according to their convictions, and es and avoiding answering Macer’s
deeply marked by the attacks of Sep- thus satisfy their own state of mind. questions, accentuate the “geopoliti-
tember 11, 2001 on the World Trade Machiavelli explains that soldiers cal atmosphere” developed by Klauss
Center (New York) and the Pentagon fighting for their own glory are the Dodds27. Macer’s doubts develop
(Virginia). Therefore, their man ob- ones who are most efficient21. In Si- throughout the film as she gets no
jective would be to focus on the hunt cario, one could argue that Kate Mac- clues about Alejandro’s intentions.
and capture of the leader of the ter- er’s situation illustrates this way of She questions Graver at the end of
rorist group responsible for this at- motivating soldiers to become more the first meeting between the dif-
tack, Osama bin Laden. However, the involved in defending American re- ferent agents and during the final
difficulty of this mission was that the publican values. Her idealistic char- assault, she decides to follow him
American troops would not be facing acter forces her to accept the sug- when he takes a different path from
a clearly identified state-like enemy, gestion of her hierarchy to be able to the intervention team, in order to get
but rather a nebula scattered even in track down the people responsible revenge from the man responsible by
the American population. This “Good for the failure of her last operation killing him and his whole family28. Af-
vs. Evil” approach requires contradic- in Arizona, instead of focusing on ter neutralizing him by shooting him
tory action from protagonists’ claims the cartel’s little hands. However, in his bullet-proof vest, Alejandro
to be in the right side. as we can see throughout the film, finds Kate at her home and threatens
it’s her superiors who take advan- her with her revolver, so she would
The need to reach one’s ends by tage of the situation, using her as a sign a paper to make the entire oper-
going beyond the principles for which cover for their true mission, making ation legal. All the tension accumulat-
the republic fights for shows the lim- her believe in the merits of the task ed throughout the film between the
its of Machiavelli’s republican virtù. force. It is interesting to note that two protagonists is reflected in this
The latter explains that good men, Macer’s colleague, Reggie Wayne, is final scene, where Kate then has the
after certain events, can easily be refused by Graver on the pretext of opportunity to kill Alejandro in cold
corrupted17. By now working for the his academic cursus22. The choice of blood but does not find the strength
Colombian cartels and the CIA, Ale- a female principal character, sine qua to drop her republican values.
jandro joins forces with those he had none condition from screenwriter
sworn to fight as a prosecutor in or- Taylor Sheridan and director Denis This representation of mistrust of
der to carry out his vendetta against Villeneuve, stands out from the tra- exiles can be put in relation with the
Alarcon. As Graver explains to Kate ditional representation of the Amer- “Curveball” scandal during the US
after the final assault: “Alejandro ican hero, i.e. a heterosexual white intervention in Iraq in 200329. From
works for anyone who will point him man with a classic nuclear family his real name Rafid Ahmed Alwan
toward the people who made him.” (wife and children) 23. Here, the main al-Janabi, “Curveball” served as a cru-
1
The character of Graver illustrates character is a woman, divorced, with- cial source to justify the intervention
the method of Vice President Dick out children or family ties. Her per- of the Bush administration in Iraq
Cheney in terms of foreign policy sonal situation is a determining fac- on the grounds of the presence of
during the administration of George tor of her selection by Matt Graver24. weapons of mass destruction. With
W. Bush. As the Republican president Macer’s personal situation, the ab- a chemical engineering background,
had little expertise in foreign policy, sence of personal constraints, allows “Curveball” claimed to have worked
Richard Cheney had considerable her to devote herself solely to her in a secret laboratory for biological
room for maneuver to implement his mission, Machiavelli’s representation weapons in the 1990s before going
strategy. This meant concealing a lot of a soldier’s glory. On the op- into exile in Germany and seeking
of information from the president to posite, there is great mistrust of ex- political asylum there. Despite the
avoid exposing him and making him iled people, whether in Machiavelli’s doubts of the German intelligence
“responsible” for US diplomatic and work, in Sicario or among the neo- services regarding inconsistencies in
military operations19. By refusing to conservatives. Machiavelli considers his statements to the CIA, the Bush
reveal to Kate Macer the true rea- citizens must distrust them because administration intervened in Iraq in
sons for the dismantling of Mexican they can represent a threat to the 2003. In 2005, the revelations about
cartels throughout the film, Graver republic25. Their personal goals are “Curveball” and American stubborn-
conceals information from US federal usually different from the goals for ness – despite the reports of the in-
3spectors of the United Nations – be- Juárez in ‘Sicario’ Vexes Residents www.imdb.com/title/tt3397884/
gan to be published. This case is still Trying to Move Past Dark Times». trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv . Viewed on
considered one of the most serious New York Times (https://www. March 22nd, 2018.
intoxications in espionage. nytimes.com/2015/10/12/world/
americas/portrayal-of-juarez-in-sica- 14 ALLOCINE, secrets de tournage :
rio-vexes-residents-trying-to-move- Sicario http://www.allocine.fr/film/
fichefilm-228114/secrets-tournage/.
Conclusion past-dark-times.html), 11 October
Viewed on March 18th, 2018.
2015.
It is clear that Sicario is not 15 MACHIAVELLI Niccolo, The Dis-
only a movie about the violence of 3 COULSON Aurélien, « Machiavel, Le
Prince et la négociation », Négocia- courses on Livy. First book, Chapter
fights against the drug cartels at the
tions, 2013, Vol.2, n°20, pp. 147-157. XXVII, 1517.
Mexican border, but also a represen-
tation of the principles that guided 16 Borger, Julian, How born-again
the Bush administration in its foreign 4 YINDA André-Marie, « Machiavel
et les néoconservateurs : L’empire en George became a man on a mission,
policy, and the way it affected the The Guardian. https://www.theguar-
Homeland Security of the US. For Ma- jeu ». Études internationales, 2007,
Vol 38, n°1, pp. 33–50. dian.com/world/2005/oct/07/usa.
chiavelli, foreign policy does not dif- georgebush , October 7th, 2005.
fer from domestic politics, but there 5 MARIETTI Marina, Machiavel : Le
are just different aspects of the virtù penseur de la nécessité, 2009, Paris, 17 MACHIAVELLI Niccolo, The Dis-
to convey both. As an agent of the courses on Livy, First book, Chapitre
Payot.
FBI, and thus of US domestic security, XLII, 1517.
Kate Macer embodies the defense of 6 Machiavelli, The Discourses on
the American republic and the values Livy, Book I, Chapter V, 1517. 18 Sicario, 2015, 1 :35 :40
of liberty on which it is based. Graver
7 ALLOCINE, secrets de tournage : 19 Suskind, Ron, The one percent
and Alejandro, recruited by the CIA
Sicario http://www.allocine.fr/film/ doctrine : deep inside America’s pur-
and therefore responsible for exter-
fichefilm-228114/secrets-tournage/. suit of its enemies since 9/11. New
nal actions, embody the military virtù
to maintain American foreign inter- Viewed on March 18th, 2018. York : Simon and Schuster : 2006
ests in the fight against drug cartels. 20 SUSKIND Ron, « Chapter 5 : Going
In doing so, we can argue that Sicario 8 Sicario, 2015 : 42 :38 to 43 :25
Operational » in The one percent doc-
is a close representation of a func- 9 The Guardian, « Senate report trine : deep inside America’s pursuit
tioning republic regime according on CIA torture claims spy agency of its enemies since 9/11. New York :
to Machiavelli: the establishment of lied about ‘ineffective’ program», Simon and Schuster : 2006
civil discord between the elites, and
https://www.theguardian.com/us-
the plebs, a perpetual political con- 21 MACHIAVELLI Niccolo, The Dis-
news/2014/dec/09/cia-torture-re-
flict inherent to the republic30. The courses on Livy, First book, Chapter
port-released (Viewed on March
link between the fight against drug XLIII, 1517.
trafficking and the fight against terror 23rd 2018)
seems to be accentuated in Sicario’s 10 DAVID Charles-Philippe, « La po- 22 He has a Law degree
sequel, Soldado. This movie focuses litique étrangère de Bush : formula- 23 DODDS Klauss, « Popular
on the characters of Graver and Ale- tion et décision », dans Au sein de la Geopolitics and War on Terror », in
jandro, in their mission to hunt down Maison-Blanche. La formulation de Popular Culture and Worlds Politics :
a cartel-spawn that teams up with
la politique étrangère des États-Unis Theories, Mehodes, Pedagogies.
terrorist groups.
depuis 1945, Presses de l’Université E-International Relations Publishing:
Laval : 2004 (2e éd) 2015.
Endotes 11 GRONDIN David, « Une lecture 24 Sicario, 2015, 11 :27 to 12 :55
critique du discours néoconservateur
1 Analyzed film: Sicario. Dir. Denis 25 MACHIAVELLI Niccolo, The Dis-
du nouvel impérialisme : La lutte glo-
Villeneuve. Black Label Media, Lions- courses on Livy, Book II, Chapter XXI,
bale contre le terrorisme comme Pax
Gate Films, Thunder Road Pictures, 1517.
Americana », Études internationales,
2015. 2005, Vol 36, n°4, pp. 469–500 26 Sicario, 2015, 16 :00 to 19 :40
Cannes Festival and 3 Academy 12 YINDA André-Marie, « Machiavel 27 Dodds, Klauss, « Popular
awards nomination including best et les néoconservateurs : L’empire en Geopolitics and War on Terror », in
cinematography. The movie received jeu ». Études internationales, 2007, Popular Culture and Worlds Politics :
a 93% aggregation on Rotten Toma- Vol 38, n°1, pp. 33–50. Theories, Mehodes, Pedagogies.
toes. E-International Relations Publishing,
13 The meaning of « Sicario »
2 BURNETT Victoria, « Portrayal of 2015.
in Spanish. IMDB trivia: http://
428 Sicario, 2015, 1 :43 :40 to 1 :47 :42
29 PRADOS, John, THE RECORD ON
CURVEBALL, Declassified Documents
and Key Participants Show the Impor-
tance of Phony Intelligence in the Ori-
gins of the Iraq War National Security
Archive Electronic Briefing, Novem-
ber 5th 2007, Book N°. 234.. (Viewed
March 25th, 2018)
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAE-
BB/NSAEBB234/index.htm
30 PIRONET Oliver, « Machiavel
contre le Machiavélisme », Le Monde
Diplomatique, Novembre 2013
https://www.monde-diplomatique.
fr/2013/11/PIRONET/49798
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