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

172 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

thatattimestherewillbeconsiderablebacksliding.Noneofthisaffects
theirsincere(andthereforeoftenconvincing)declarationstoforeigners
about the enduring principles ofAmerican foreign policy, ortheir
bedrockconvictionsaboutthesuperiormorality andsocialorganization
oftheUnitedStates.Nomereanduglyfactcandefaceanimagesosub-
lime;nosincannotbeovercomebygrace;notemporaryweaknessorfail-
ingcanoverthrowtheright,theduty,andthedestinyoftheUnited
Statestospreaditsdemocraticrevolutiontotheendsoftheearth.
FarfromsneeringatWilsonianismanditsacolytes,realistsshould
thankGodthattheyexist.AnnoyingasWilsonianmoralistscanbeat
times,onthewholetheyhavedonemuchtostrengthenthehandsof
Americanforeignpolicymakers.

W

ithallthese advantages,Wilsonianismclearlybringsgreat
strengthstoAmericanforeignpolicy,butitscriticsarecorrect
thattheWilsonianprograminvolvestheUnitedStatesindifficultiesand
dangers.FirstandforemostitsetsahighbarforAmericanforeignpolicy
success.Theglobaltriumphofdemocracyandtheruleoflawareambi-
tiousgoals,andtheynecessarilyinvolvetheUnitedStatesinperpetual
quarrelswithanumberofnondemocraticcountries,someofwhichare
quitepowerfulandimportant.
Theveryhighandambitiousnatureofthesegoalsalsomakesstrate-
gicthinkingdifficultina Wilsoniancontext.Giventhatwecan'tachieve
thecompleteWilsonianprogrameverywhereonearththisweek,where
shouldwestart? Whatevilsshall weletfesteras weprioritizeother
causes?HowmuchrepressionofTurkishKurdsshallwetoleratetofacili-
tateoureffortstoforceSaddamHusseintotreatIraqiKurdsbetter?Do
weignorefemalecircumcisioninSomaliawhileweconcentrateonjudi-
cialreforminthatcountry?HowmanyChechenscanRussianpresident
VladimirPutinkillbeforewewithdrawsupportforhisregime,andhow
manymorekillsdoeshegetifwebecomeconvincedthattheonlyalter-
nativetoaPutingovernmentisaCommunistrestoration?
Morepositively,howexactlydoesonebuilda peaceful,stable,just,
anddemocraticworld?ThefragmentationoftheWilsonianworldinto
thousandsofnongovernmentalgroups-manyformedtoadvocatesingle
issues-anditsdivisionsalongreligiousandideologicallinesmakeall
questionsofstrategicchoiceextremelydifficultforpoliticiansworking
ina Wilsoniancontext.
WilsonianpolicyalsoinvolvescontemporaryAmericanforeignpolicy