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

TheAmericanForeignPolicyTradition 5

tern,a worldorderthatwasin 1900 almostaselaborateas,andinsome

respectsevenmoreinterdependentandintegratedthan,theAmerican

worldorderthatexiststoday.

Therewas, heconceded,onediplomaticrepresentativetheUnited

Statesdidrequire,however. TheAmericanscouldfire therestoftheir

ambassadorsandnotnoticeanyrealdifference,hesaid,buttheUnited

StatesdidneedtokeepitsambassadorattheCourtofSt.James.

Thischangewouldhavebeena greatdealmorebeneficialtoGreat

BritainthantotheUnitedStates,butthegoodlordhada point.In 1900

GreatBritainwasatthecenterofa globalempireandfinancialsystem,a

systemthatinmanyrespectsincludedtheUnitedStates.Ontheoccas-

sionofQueenVictoria'sDiamondJubileein1897,oftenconsideredthe

high-watermarkofBritishpowerandprestige,theNewYorkTimeswas

movedtoacknowledgethisfact."Wearepart,"saidtheTimesinwords

thatwerenodoubtverywelcometoLordBryce,"anda greatpart,of

theGreaterBritainwhichseemssoplainlydestinedtodominatethe

planet."4

Ina certainsensetheTimeswasright.Onehundredyearsagotheeco-

nomic,military,andpoliticaldestinyoftheUnitedStateswaswrapped

upinitsrelationshipwithGreatBritain.ThePaxBritannicashapedthe

internationalenvironmentinwhichtheUnitedStatesoperated.

InthelastanalysisLordBryce'scommentwaslessaninformedobser-

vationaboutAmericanhistoryandforeignpolicythanitwasa hopeful

statementaboutthedurabilityoftheBritishEmpire.Itwasa prayer,not

a fact.BrycehopedthatBritaincouldcontinuetomanagetheEuropean

balanceofpoweronitsown,withlittlemorethanthepassiveAmerican

participationithadenjoyedsincetheproclamationoftheMonroeDoc-

trine.TheBritishstatesmenofhisdayhopedthatiftheyofferedthe

UnitedStatesa "freehand"intheWesternHemisphere,andsupported

theOpenDoorpolicyinChina,theUnitedStateswouldnotcontest

Britain'sdesiretoshapethedestiniesoftherestoftheworld.

T

hatLord Bryce would have discounted and minimized the
importanceofforeignpolicyintheUnitedStatesdoesnotstar-
tle;thatsomanyimportantAmericanwritersandthinkerswouldjoin
himina wholesaledismissalofthecountry'sforeignpolicytraditionsis
moresurprising. Indeed,oneofthe mostremarkablefeatures about
Americanforeignpolicytodayistheignoranceofandcontemptforthe