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

XVll1 Introduction

History,alas,hasa wayofhangingon.Morethana decadeafterthe
ColdWar,itnowseemsclearthatthetwenty-firstcenturyisbringing
theUnitedStatesnewchallengesandnewproblems.Notallcountries
willbecomedemocratic;notalldemocraticcountrieswillagreewiththe
UnitedStatesabouthowtheworldshouldberun.Foreignpolicywill
notbecomea fieldofdreams;ourchoiceswillsometimesbepainfulones,
andtogetherwithnewopportunitiesandadventuresthiscenturymay
wellbringnewwarsandnewproblemsthatareevenworsethanthoseof
thebloodycenturyjustpast.
Butifthisbookisnottriumphalist,itisoptimistic.Americanfor-
eignpolicywillnotbringhistorytoanend,butithasdonea remarkably
goodjobofenablingtheUnitedStatestoflourishashistorygoeson.I do
notknowhowlongthepresentmomentofAmericansupremacywill
last,oriftheworldisduefora secondAmericancentury.I amnoteven
surethatanothercenturyofAmericanglobalhegemonyis whatthe
Americanpeopleshouldhopefor.Burthelongandsuccessfulrecordof
thiscountry's unique-anduniquelycomplex-foreignpolicysystem
givesmesolidgroundsforbelievingthatwhateverelsehappensinthe
world,ourforeignpolicytraditionofferstheAmericanpeoplerealhope
fora prosperousanddemocraticfuture.

WalterRussellMead

July 2001