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

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lierinthecenturyandmodeled,insomecasesdirectly,onthesteps
Christiantheologytooktoaccommodatemoderndevelopmentsinsci-
enceandpolitics,remainstheleadingideologicalopponentofthefunda-
mentalistmovementsthatappeartoberunningoutofsteaminmuchof
theMiddleEast. Heretoo,inMuslimratherthaninChristianform,
someofthecore ideologicalconcepts thatthemissionaries preached
morethanahundredyearsagoarelikelytoplayimportantrolesinthis
century.
Thesecularcontributionsofthemissionarymovement may,ona
globalscale,ultimatelyhavemoreimpactthandotheirreligiousachieve-
ments.Liberaldemocracyhas,officiallyatleast,becometherulingide-
ologyinsouthern,southeasternandmostofnortheasternAsia.China,
Vietnam,Myanmar, and North Korea remainsocialist withvarying
degreesofconvictionandsuccess,butnoneofthesesocietieslookas if
theywillbesettingtheideologicalagendafor thefuture. Inmostof
Africa,liberaldemocracyhasnoseriousideologicalrival;ithauntsthe
chancelleriesoftheMuslimMiddleEastandduelswiththerecidivist
nationalfascismsoftheBalkanPeninsula.
Supportingthisworldwidemovementtowardhumaneandliberal
democracyisa hostofcivilsocietymovementsforhumanrights,pro-
tectionofjournalists, thedefenseofethnicand religiousminorities,
women's rights, justicefor refugees,disarmament, and otherliberal
causes.Inmanycasestherearedirectinstitutionallinksbetweenthese
organizationsandthemissionarychurches.Inmanyothersthelinksare
cultural,ideologicalorpersonal.Insomecases,liketheKoreandemoc-
racymovement,thesemovementsareinlargepartbasedinchurches.
Inothers,aswiththelargenetworkoffarmer-based,nongovernmental
organizations(NGOs)inThailand,missionaries,church-relateddevelop-
mentorganizations,andfoundationssupportindigenous,non-Christian
movements. Throughout the thirdworld, international movements
againstsuchevilsaschildlabor,femalecircumcision,anddebtpeonage
carryonthemissionarytraditioninthecircumstancesofthepresent.
Inall itsformsthisglobalmovement, controlledfrom nosingle
centerand focusedon nosingleobject, owes much tothemission-
aries,Americanandotherwise,whogavetheirlivestospreadwhatthey
believedtobethelinkedmessagesofChristianfaithanddemocraticgov-
ernmentinthenon-Europeanregionsoftheworld.Itisonlynaturalthat
WilsoniansseekasvigorouslynowtoalignAmericanforeignpolicywith
thegoalsofthisgreatinternationalmovementastheydidinthepast.