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

"VindicatorOnlyofHerOwn" 193

IfthebroadcommercialinterestsassertedbyHamiltoniansandthe
Hamiltonianwillingnesstosacrificeconstitutionalnicetiesandparochial
intereststotheconstructionofaninternationaltradesystemseemexces-
siveanddangeroustojeffersonians,theevenmoreuniversalmoralinter-
estsanddutiesassertedbyWilsonianshorrifythem.ArguingwithChina
overself-determinationinTibet,demandingfreeelectionsinKosovo,or
opposingethnicmurderinRwandalook,totheWilsonianmind,like
simpleandself-evidentcasesinwhichtheAmericannationalinterestin
anorderlyworldcoincideswiththecountry'smoralduty.Thejefferson-
ianviewonthissubjectwasstatedbyjohnQuincyAdamsin1821:
"Whereverthestandardoffreedomandindependencehasbeenorshall
beunfurled,therewillher[America's}heart,herbenedictionsandher
prayersbe.Butshegoesnotabroadinsearchofmonsterstodestroy.She
is thewell-wishertothefreedomandindependenceofall.Sheis the
championandvindicatoronlyofherown."25
Thisviewisnotbasedoncowardiceormoralindifference.Itrestsin
thejeffersonianbeliefthatexcessiveinvolvementsoverseascancompro-
miseourdemocraticstandardsathome.Governingforeignpeoples-in
thePhilippinesatthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury,intheformer
Yugoslaviaatitsend-underminesAmericandemocraticinstitutions
andvalues,saythejeffersonians.Weshallfindourselvesmixedinwith
corruptandunworthyallies;todaywehelptheAfghanmujahideenby
armingandtrainingthemagainsttheSovietUnion,andtomorrowthey
turnthoseweaponsagainstusandbecomeathorninourfleshthrough-
outtheMiddleEast.WeprotecttheAlbaniansinKosovofromSerb
"ethniccleansers,"onlytobeholdtheAlbaniansusingtheirnewfreedom
todrivetheirSerbianenemiesfromtheirhomesinturn.
MoreoftenthanHamiltoniansandWilsonians,jeffersoniansbelieve
thatthebestpolicyfortheUnitedStatesistoletwellenoughalone.jef-
fersoniansseetherisksandcostsofinterventionassohighthatonlyreal
threatstothenation'sexistencejustifysuchadventures.Theyarecritical
ofothers'claimsthatthenationalinterestisendangeredbyparticular
crises.WilsoniansarguedforinterventioninYugoslaviaontheanalogy
oftheWest'sfailuretodeterHitler.jeffersoniansrepliedthatthereisa
substantialdifferencebetweenHitler'sGermanyandMilosevic'sYugo-
slavia,thatYugoslaviahasfarlessabilitytodisturbthegeneralEuropean
equilibriumandthreatenvitalAmericaninterests.
jeffersoniansusethesameskepticismtoaskwherethenation'strue
securityperimeteristobefound.ParticularlywiththeendoftheCold
War,theyoftenquestionAmericantroopcommitmentsinEuropeand