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

Introduction

T

hisis a bookabouthowandwhyAmericanforeignpolicyworks.
In littlemorethan twohundredyears, the UnitedStates
hasgrownfrom a handfulofsettlementsontheAtlanticseaboardto
becomethemostpowerfulcountryinthehistoryoftheworld.Bothfor-
eignersandAmericansthemselvestakethisremarkabledevelopmentfor
granted.ThroughouttheU.S.risetoworldpower,mostobservershave
believedthatthecountrydidnotcareverymuchaboutforeignpolicy
and wasnotverygoodatit. EventodayintheUnitedStates,most
policy-makersandpunditsthinkthatforeignpolicyplayedonlya very
marginalroleinAmericanlifebeforeWorldWarII, andthatthereis
verylittletobegainedbystudyingthehistoricalrecordsofourpast.
WhenRichardC.LeoneandTheCenturyFoundationcommissioned
metowritea bookaboutAmericanforeignpolicyattheendoftheCold
War, I foundmyselfincreasinglydrawntoquestionthisconventional
wisdom.I wonderedifAmericansuccessintherough-and-tumblecon-
testofnationswasn'tduejusttodumbluck,thespecialprovidencefor
drunks,fools,andtheUnitedStatesofAmericathatBismarckbelieved
watchedoverus.I alsowonderediftheAmericanforeignpolicysystem
hada logicofitsown,a differentlogicfromtheonethatgovernedthe
foreignpolicyofthetraditionalgreatpowersofEurope.
Twodiscrepanciesledmetoaskthesequestions.First,therewasthe
odd fact that while muchconventional discussionofforeign policy
assumesatleasttacitlythatdemocracyisatbestanirrelevanceandat
worsta seriousobstacleinforeignaffairs,inthetwentiethcenturydemo-
craticstatesweregenerallymoresuccessfulinforeignpolicythaneither
monarchiesordictatorships.TheclearestexamplescomefromGermany
andJapan.Undernondemocraticregimes,bothGermanyandJapanfol-
lowedrisky,aggressiveforeignpoliciesthatultimatelybroughtthemto
miseryandruin.Startingundermuchlessfavorableexternalcircum-