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What is foreign policy? 619

illustrates, no one is a realist or a liberal all the time. For example, Obama’s support

for intervention in the Libyan civil war was squarely liberal in its motivation—done

with the hope that dissident elements in Libya could unite to build a stable democracy.

Conversely, Obama’s reluctance to send ground troops to Syria is a classic example of

realism: while the situation was a human rights catastrophe, it put no fundamental

American interests at stake.

History of American foreign policy

American foreign policy has evolved throughout the country’s history. Tracing the

course of America’s relations with other nations since the Founding allows us to

illustrate the types of choices U.S. politicians have faced, how these policy options have

changed over time, and the fact that politicians have always disagreed about how to

resolve foreign policy issues.

The Founding to World War I Until America’s entry into World War I in 1917,

American foreign policy was largely isolationist. Most presidents and other elected

officials behaved in accordance with George Washington’s assertion that the United

States should “avoid entangling alliances” with other nations.^5 Isolationism made

sense during this period for several reasons. America’s distance from Europe reduced

the potential for international economic interactions, lowered the level of military

You take victories where you

can. You make things a little

bit better rather than a little

bit worse. And that’s in no way

a concession to this idea that

America is withdrawing or

there’s not much we can do. It’s

just a realistic assessment of

how the world works.

—President Barack Obama

Internationalists argue that America

is the only nation with the will and

the resources needed to address

humanitarian crises throughout the

world, such as by providing food aid to

people in Syrian refugee camps.

threat, and gave early America room to expand without conflicting with European

nations.^6 The Monroe Doctrine, established by President James Monroe in 1823, stated

that America would remain neutral in wars involving European nations and that the

United States expected these nations to stop trying to colonize or occupy areas in North

and South America.^7

America’s foreign policy was never completely isolationist, however, even in the

early years. The American navy was deployed on many occasions to protect U.S. ships

and citizens, and America had several colonies far beyond its borders. Even in the early

years, the United States expanded by purchasing land from other countries or from

Monroe Doctrine

The American policy initiated under

President James Monroe in 1823,

stating that the United States would

remain neutral in conflicts between

European nations and that these

nations should stop colonizing or

occupying areas of North and South

America.

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