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

282 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

WhileHamiltoniansstilloftenwonkeylegislativebattles,suchas
the 2000 voteonpermanentnormaltradingrelationswithChina,every
battleovertradepolicybecameanexhausting,all-consumingstruggle.
Almosttwo-thirdsoftheDemocratsintheHouseofRepresentatives
brokerankswiththeirparty'spresidentandpresidentialcandidateover
the 2000 Chinatradevote,andorganizedlaborwagedoneofitsbitterest
campaignsinmodernmemoryagainstthenormalizationvote.
MeanwhiletheinternationalclimateforHamiltonianpolicywasalso
becomingmoredifficult.JapaneseparalysisandEuropeanassertiveness
werereducingtheabilityofAmericandiplomatstoseta globaltrade
agenda.ThedevelopingcountriesthatoriginallywelcomedtheWTO
agreementhadbecomedisillusionedwithwhattheysawasa tradesys-
tem stillskewed againstthem. Itwould takestrong and confident
Americanleadershiptokeeptheworldtradingsystemmovinginways
thatservedcorenationalinterests;thatleadershipwasharderforHamil-
tonianstoprovidein 2001 thanithadbeenin1989.

CrownofThornsII:TheWilsonianAgony

Theotherhalfofthedominantglobalistcoalitioninpost-ColdWar
Americanforeignpolicyunderwenta triumph-and-tragedyexperience
duringthe1990SsimilarinsomewaystotheHamiltonianfate.Like
Hamiltonians,Wilsoniansinthefirstflushofjoyfollowingthecollapse
ofEuropeanCommunismbelievedthattheirdeepestdreamswerecloser
thanevertorealization.Astheninetiesworeon,however,Wilsonians
increasinglycametoappreciatethedifficultiesthatlayintheirpath.
IfthecollapseoftheSovietUnion,withthespreadoffreemarkets,
broughtjoytoHamiltonians,Wilsonianswerethrilledatanevenwider
andpotentiallymoreprofoundchangeinglobalsociety:theriseoffree
peoples. Withthe collapseoftheSoviet Union, democraticregimes
sprangupthroughouttheoldWarsawPactstates.WhenBorisYeltsin
ledthedemocraticresistance toa Communist/militarycoup,whena
"velvetrevolution"broughtpeacefulchangetoCzechoslovakia,andEast
GermandemocratsdrovetheCommunistsfrompowerthroughpeace-
fulstreetdemonstrations,Wilsoniansrejoiced.Whenmilitaryregimes
yielded todemocracies across LatinAmerica; when NelsonMandela
achieveda peaceful,negotiatedendtotheapartheidstateinSouthAfrica
andwentontowinfreeandfairelectionsthere;whenBeijingstudents