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

176 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

tialforalternativecoalitionsand foreignpolicyapproachesthat now
existsinAmericanpolitics.
LiketheHamiltonianandWilsonianschools,theJeffersonianand
JacksonianschoolsrepresentdistinctintellectualapproachestoAmeri-
can foreign policy that emerge out ofdistinct cultural,social, and
economicelementsinAmericansociety.LiketheHamiltonianandWilso-
nianschools,too,theJeffersonianandJacksonianschoolshaveevolved
overthegenerationswhileconsistentlyseekingwaysofexpressingand
advancing identifiable interests and concerns. Again like the other
schools,bothJeffersoniansandJacksoniansseeforeignpolicynotsimply
asa fieldofconcerninitsownrightbutasaninstrumentofdomestic
policy;theyfavorparticularforeignpolicyideasbecausetheybelievethat
certainapproachestoforeignpolicywillbestadvancethekindofdomes-
ticpoliciesandordertheywishtopromote.Thisdoesnotmeantheyare
indifferenttoforeignpolicy.Fromtheearliestyearsoftherepublic,Jef-
fersonians andJacksonians haveenergetically entered the contestto
shapeAmericanforeignpolicy,andtheireffortshaveoftenbeencrowned
withsuccess.
DespitetheirrelegationtotheoppositionintheGeorgeH.Bushand
Clintonadministrations, the twoschoolsremained deeply rooted in
AmericanopinionandwereabletoforceHamiltonianandWilsoOlian
globaliststoretreatfromtheirmostexpansive,intoxicatingvisionsofa
"newworldorder."Theelectionof 2000 sawGeorgeW.Bushadoptkey
themesfromJeffersonianandJacksonianideas,speakinginthecam-
paignoftheneedfortheUnitedStatestoloweritsprofile,towalkmore
"humbly,"andtomovebacktoa narrowerandmorerestrictedviewof
thenationalinterest.
Jacksoniansupportwasa crucialelementinthesupportforRonald
Reagan'spresidency,andJeffersonianoppositiontohisCentralAmerica
policyentangledhimintheIran-Contrascandal,inflictingthemostseri-
ousdamageofhispresidency.GeorgeH.Bushfailedtorealizelasting
politicalgainsfromtheGulfWarvictorybecauseJacksonianopinion,
whichtraditionallyopposeslimitedwar,wasoutragedbytheinconclu-
sivepeace.SADDAM HUSSEINSTILL HASHISJOB;DOYOU?saida
bumperstickerduringthe 1992 campaign.AlthoughboththeJ efferson-
ianandJacksonianschoolsfellonhardtimesinthetwentiethcentury,
andsomeobserverspredictedthattheywouldfade fromnationallife,
bothnowlooksettoplaycrucial,perhapsdominantrolesintheforma-
tionofAmericanforeignpolicyformanyyearstocome.