Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

ChangingtheParadigms 95

ofperpetualdiscontentandrecriminationthecritiquesfromContinental
realistsintheUnitedStatesandabroad,andweneednolongerwonder
whytheraftofstateis surroundedbyhowls,imprecations,andwarnings
ofimminentshipwreckas itmushesunsinkably ifnotverystylishly
throughthewaves.
Americanforeignpolicyis complexatitscore.Atanygivenmoment
itismorelikelytobetheproductofa wideanddiffusecoalitionrather
thanofa singleunitaryvision.Americanforeignpolicyis atleastas
complicatedtofathomastheelephantwasfortheproverbialblindmen;
thetusksaresharp,thetailisskittish,theearsflap,thetrunkpickspock-
ets,thefeet treadheedlesslyonsmallercreatures,thebreathsmellsof
peanuts,andthecreatureas a wholeis bulkyandhardtomove-but
movesrapidlyandviolentlyifendangered,andsometimesmerelyifitis
alarmedbya mousewitha beard,a cigar,anda Spanishaccent.Butalso
likeanelephant,Americanforeignpolicygenerallygetswhatitwants.
Perhapsthesuccessisbecauseofthesedifferentcharacteristicsand
qualitiesratherthaninspiteofthem.Alternatingamongfourdifferent
approaches,each capableofcombiningwithandcomplementingthe
others,Americanforeignpolicybenefitsfrombothflexibilityintheshort
termand,inthelongrun,strongcontinuitiesofpurpose.Ifthefour
schoolsarerootedinandspeakfor differentinterests-regional,eco-
nomic, cultural, social-inthe UnitedStates, theircompetition for
politicalinfluenceprovidesanenvironmentwithinwhichthenational
interestcanbemoreorlessdefinedandexpressed.Therisingorfalling
strengthofthedifferentschoolsintheforeignpolicydiscoursegenerally
reflectstherisingorfallingimportanceofthespecialinterestsforwhich
eachschoolspeaks.
Fromthisperspectiveitappearsthatovertimethecompetitionofthe
fourschoolsforinfluenceyieldsa foreignpolicythatisbetterthanthe
productofa singleindividualmind,howevergreat-justastheopera-
tionofmarketforcesovertimetendstoproduceanoutcomethatis supe-
riortotheresultsofanysingleplan,howeverwise.Therepresentative
natureofAmericanpoliticalsocietymeansthatthereisatleasta rough
equivalencebetweenthepoliticalstrengthofthegivenschoolsandtheir
weightinthenation-andtheinvisiblehandtakescareoftherest.
Historiansmayormaynotconcludethatthefour-schoolsapproach
can besustainedbythe historical record; politicalscientists mayor
maynotfind thatitcanbereconciledwithanintellectuallycoherent
theoryofdomesticorinternationalpolitics.Butwhateveritsdrawbacks,