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

XVI Introduction

stancesafterWorldWarII,democraticGermanandJapanesegovern-
mentsmadetheircountriesrich,peaceful,andrespected.Wasitpossible
thatsomethingaboutdemocracyactuallyimprovestheabilityofgovern-
mentstoconducttheirforeignaffairs?
Second,I couldnotescapethefactthatthetwomostrecentgreat
powersinworldhistorywerewhatEuropeansstillsometimesrefertoas
"Anglo-Saxon" powers: GreatBritainand theUnitedStates.Besides
havinga largenumberofculturalsimilarities,thesetwocountrieshave
historicallylookedattheworldina differentwaythanhavemostofthe
Europeancountries.TheBritishEmpirewas,andtheUnitedStatesis,
concernednotjustwiththebalanceofpowerinoneparticularcornerof
theworldbutwiththeevolutionofwhatwetodaycall"worldorder;"A
worldwidesystemoftradeandfinancemadebothBritainandtheUnited
Statesrich;thosericheswerewhatgavethemthepowertoprojectthe
militaryforcethatensuredthestabilityoftheirinternationalsystems.
BothBritainandtheUnitedStatesspentlesstimethinkingaboutthe
traditionalmilitarysecuritypreoccupationsofEuropeanpowerdiplo-
macyandmoretimethinkingaboutmoneyandtrade."Anationofshop-
keepers!"NapoleonscoffedaboutBritain-buttheshopkeepersgothim
intheend.
CoulditbethattheBritishshopkeepersandAmericandemocrats
know something about foreign policy that Napoleon and Bismarck
didn't?
Thesequestionsledmetothe studyofthehistoryofAmericanfor-
eignpolicy.WhatI foundhaschangedthewayI lookatthatsubject,and
atAmericanpolitics,today.
Foronething,I foundthatforeignpolicyhasplayeda muchmore
important role in American politics throughout our history than I
expected.OurcontemporarybattlesovertheNorthAmericanFreeTrade
Area(NAFTA)andtheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO)arethelatest
installments ina longlineofAmericanpolitical contests overtrade
issues.LongbeforeWorldWarIIorevenWorldWarI, foreignpolicy
questionsweredecidingAmericanelections,reshapingAmericanpoli-
tics,anddrivingthegrowthoftheAmericaneconomy.
I alsofoundthatAmericanthinkingaboutforeignpolicyhasbeen
relativelystableoverthecenturies.Theargumentsoverforeignpolicyin
GeorgeWashington'sadministration-andsomeofthebitterestpoliti-
calbattlesWashingtonengagedinwereoverforeignpolicy-areclearly
relatedtothedebatesofourowntime.