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

TheAmericanForeignPolicyTradition 7

frequentlyandrespectfully referredtotheforeignpolicytraditionsof
othercountrieswithwhichhehadhadtodeal.
ThetendencytoreducetheAmericanforeignpolicytraditiontoa
legacyofmoralismandisolationismcanalsobefoundamongtheDemo-
craticstatesmenwhohaveattemptedtoguideAmericanforeignpolicy
inthelasttwentyyears.Some,likeJimmyCarter,haveembracedthe
moralismwhilerejectingtheisolationism;otherssharetheRepublican
contemptforboth.ThecopiousandlearnedbooksofZbigniewBrzezin-
skishowfewsignsofclosefamiliaritywiththehistoryofAmericanfor-
eignpolicyorwiththeachievementsofhispredecessors,muchlessa
senseofthetraditionalstrategiesandgoalsthatguidedtheirwork.Simi-
larly,thememoirsofformersecretaryofdefenseRobertMcNamaraand
formersecretaryofstateDeanRuskrarelytouchonAmericanforeign
policybefore 194 I.WhenformersecretaryofstateWarrenChristopher
selectedand publishedthemostimportantspeechesofhis tenurein
office,thecollecteddocumentscontainedonlyonereferencetothediplo-
maticactivityofanyAmericanbeforeFDR,andthatwastowhatChris-
tophersees as thefailures ofWoodrowWilson'seffortsvis-a.-vis the
LeagueofNationsandhumanrights.IO
ThedeeplackofinterestinthehistoryofAmericanforeignpolicy
isnotconfinedtohighofficials. Theoverwhelmingmajorityoftheir
talentedandhardworkingcolleagues inthinktanks,universities,the
nationalmedia,andgovernmentdepartmentsthatareconcernedwith
developing,carryingout,reporting,andreflectingontheforeignpol-
icyoftheUnitedStatesdonotknowverymuchaboutthehistoryof
AmericanforeignpolicybeforeWorldWarII,donotparticularlywant
tolearnmorethantheyalreadyknow,andcannotthinkwhatpractical
purposea deeperknowledgeofAmericanforeignpolicyhistorymight
serve.
ThislackofknowledgeandcuriosityaboutthehistoryofAmerican
foreignpolicycontrastswithwhatisingenerala passionforhistorical
learningamongourforeignpolicyintellectuals.ThehistoryofAmerican
foreignpolicyfromPearlHarborforwardis wellknownandwellstud-
ied.LivesofsuchstatesmenasDeanAcheson,theBundybrothers,and
HarryTruman-sometimeslonganddetailedbiographiesrunningto
severallargevolumes-findrespectableaudiences,asdothememoirsof
livingAmericanstatesmen.Foreignpolicyanalystsand journalistsare
alsoreasonablywellversedinthedomesticsideofAmericanhistoryand,
particularlysincetheendoftheColdWar,theAmericanforeignpolicy