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

Introduction XVll

Americansthroughthecenturiesseemtohavehadfourbasicwaysof
lookingatforeignpolicy,whichhavereflectedcontrastingandsome-
timescomplementarywaysoflookingatdomesticpolicyaswell.Hamil-
toniansregarda strongalliancebetweenthenationalgovernmentandbig
businessas thekeybothtodomesticstabilityandtoeffectiveaction
abroad,andtheyhavelongfocusedonthenation'sneedtobeintegrated
intotheglobaleconomyonfavorableterms.Wilsoniansbelievethatthe
UnitedStateshasbotha moralobligationandanimportantnational
interestinspreadingAmericandemocraticandsocialvaluesthroughout
theworld,creatinga peacefulinternationalcommunitythatacceptsthe
ruleoflaw.JeffersoniansholdthatAmericanforeignpolicyshouldbeless
concernedaboutspreadingdemocracyabroadthanaboutsafeguardingit
athome; theyhavehistoricallybeenskepticalaboutHamiltonianand
WilsonianpoliciesthatinvolvetheUnitedStateswithunsavoryallies
abroadorthatincreasetherisksofwar.Finally,a largepopulistschoolI
callJacksonianbelievesthatthemostimportantgoaloftheU.S.govern-
mentinbothforeignanddomesticpolicyshouldbethephysicalsecurity
andtheeconomicwell-beingoftheAmericanpeople."Don'tTreadon
Me!"warnedtherattlesnakeontheRevolutionarybattleflag;Jacksoni-
ansbelievethattheUnitedStatesshouldnotseekoutforeignquarrels,
butwhenothernationsstartwarswiththeUnitedStates,Jacksonian
opinionagreeswithGen.DouglasMacArthurthat"Thereisnosubsti-
tuteforvictory."
ThesefourschoolshaveshapedtheAmericanforeignpolicydebate
fromtheeighteenthcenturytothetwenty-first.Theyareasimportant
underGeorgeW.BushastheywereunderGeorgeWashingtonandfrom
everything that I cansee, Americanforeign policy willcontinue to
emergefromtheircollisionsanddebatesfarintothefuture.
WhilethisbookisanattempttoexplaintheU.S.risetoworldpower,
itis notintendedas yetanotherpaeantowhatsomeseemtoseeas
America'sManifestDestinytoruletheworld.Thelongeconomic boom
ofthe1990SspawnedsometriumphalistliteratureabouttheAmerican
wayofcapitalismandthegrowthofAmericanpower.Thisbookisnota
partofthatliterature;it endsona cautionary,nota triumphalist,note.
Aftereachofthethreegreatwarsofthetwentiethcentury-thetwo
worldwarsandtheColdWar-manyvoicesinAmericaproclaimedan
"endtohistory."Withthepowersofevildefeated,theUnitedStatesand
itsallies,somearguedeachtime,wouldgooninthepostwarperiodto
builda newworldorderofjustice,peace,anddemocracy.