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

124 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

anarrangementwithJapan,wasequallyunwillingtogiveBritainthe
kindofactivesupportand materialassistance thatan anti-Japanese
policywouldhaverequired.TheBritishditheredhelplesslyinthissitua-
tionuntilWorldWarII,whentheJapanesedealtBritishpowera blow
inEastAsiafromwhichitneverrecovered.
Theriseofthenonwhitepeoplesinwhathadoncebeena stableBrit-
ishmaritimetradingworldwasthebackgroundnoisetothefallofthe
BritishEmpire.Attimes,as inIndia,independencemovementsposed
directpolitical threatstoBritishrule.Butallthetimeandeverywhere,
therisingpowerandassertivenessofnonwhitepeoples,whethercolonial
subjectsornot,increasedtheburdenofBritain'sglobalrole.Thenon-
Europeanworldwasnolongerpassiveandimpotent.Itwasnolongera
EuropeanbalanceofpowerthatBritainhadtomaintain,buta global
one.ThisfeatwasbeyondthecapacitiesofBritain'sstatesmen;thecost
wastoohighforBritain'seconomytobear;and,ultimately,themilitary
resourcesrequiredtosustainitwerebeyondBritain'sabilitytoassemble.
ThisprocesswasstillinitsearlystagesintheyearsbeforeWorld
WarI, buttheimplicationsforAmericanforeignpolicy wereclearly
revolutionary,andthedimshadowsofalltheresponsibilitiesthatWash-
ingtonassumedlaterinthecenturywerealreadyvisibletothediscern-
ing.ThePanamaCanalwouldmakeitpossiblefortheUnitedStatesto
assumea moreactiverole ininternationalpolitics;thedeclineofthe
BritishEmpirewouldmakethatrolenecessary.
IfEurope'srivalrieswereonceagaintospilloutintoothercontinents,
theUnitedStateswouldonceagainhavetoworryabouttherightsof
neutralshipping,anditwouldneeda navythatcouldvindicatethose
rightsaroundtheworld.Navalconsiderationswereonlythebeginning
ofthevastimplicationsofBritishweakness fortheAmericanarmed
forces.IfBritaincouldnolongerprovidethesecurityshieldthatgavethe
MonroeDoctrineitsmeaning,theUnitedStateswouldhavetomake
goodthedeficit.Therewasmore.ThehopesoftheChinatrade-andthe
fearsaboutwhatitwouldmeantobeshutoutofit-imposedimmense
newmilitaryburdensontheUnitedStates.Thesignsofa breakupin
theEuropeanorderwerethesignsofa newandmoredifficulterain
Americanforeignpolicy,and Hamiltoniansbegan toread theforeign
newswithincreasinginterestandtoembarkona majorprogramofna-
valrearmament.
Thecloseofthenineteenthcenturyandtheopeningofthetwentieth
foundtheUnitedStatesinvolvedinanincreasinglyactiveglobalforeign
policyundertheleadershipofself-describedHamiltonianslikeTeddy