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

10 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

combatant.ChurchilldefendedtheBritishEmpireagainstHitlerand
Hirohito,buthewasnomatchforFranklinD.Roosevelt.Stalingained
hegemonyoverthewastedlandscapesofEurope'sdevastatedeast,butthe
UnitedStatessecuredanunchallengedpositionofleadershipina blocof
countriesthatincludedtherichest,mostdynamic,andmostintellectu-
allyadvancedsocietiesintheworld.
Since thattime, theUnitedStateshasmademistakes,butoverall
itsdiplomacyhasbeenremarkablysuccessful.TheUnitedStatesnot
onlywontheColdWar,itdiffuseditslanguage,culture,andproducts
worldwide-theAmericandollarbecametheinternationalmediumof
finance;theAmericanlanguagebecamethelinguafrancaofworldbusi-
ness;AmericanpopularcultureandAmericanconsumerproductsdomi-
natedworldmediaandworldmarkets.TheUnitedStatesisnotonlythe
soleglobalpower,itsvaluesinforma globalconsensus,anditdominates
toanunprecedenteddegreetheformationofthefirstttulyglobalcivili-
zationourplanethasknown.
Despiteallthis,foreignpolicycommentatorsandpractitionersalike
holdthattheUnitedStates,inordertosucceedinforeignpolicy,must
abandonitsnaive"oscillationbetweenidealismandisolationism"and
embracethemature,sophisticated,worldlyapproachofEuropeanstates-
men.Theyhave succeededatforeignpolicy,criticssay,andwe have
repeatedlyfailed.
Nobody,however, seemstoaska basicquestion:WhichEuropean
countryhashada more"sophisticated"andsuccessfulforeignpolicythan
theUnitedStatesinthetwentiethcenturyor,indeed,ever?
KissingerpointstoKlemensvonMetternich,butthegreatAustrian
prince outlived his ownsystemand saw itcollapse in 1848. Great
Britainmarchedintothetwentiethcenturylikea lionbutlimpedout
likea palsiedlamb,retainingonlytheenergytobleatthatthebrashand
clumsyAmericansoughttodefertoitssuperiorwisdom,experience,and
realisminforeignaffairs.AsDeanAchesonsaidonce,Britainhadlostan
empireandhadnotfounda role;farfromsolvingthisproblem,British
statesmensinceHaroldMacmillanhavefailedeithertoestablishBritish
leadershipwithintheEuropeanUnionortofinda great-powerrolefor
BritainoutsideEurope.
Franceachievedlittleinthetwentiethcentury,orindeedsincethe
deathofTalleyrand, thattheUnitedStatesought toemulate. Since
NapoleonIIIbroughtthedisasteroftheFranco-PtussianWaronhim-
self,Frenchforeignpolicyhasknownmanydefeatsandpyrrhicvictories,