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

TheFutureof AmericanForeignPolicy 323

theoldmythoftheColdWar,andreplacebothmythswitha newpic-
tureoftheUnitedStatesasa nationuniquelyconcernedfromitsearliest
dayswiththegrowthanddevelopmentofworldorder-withthemoral,
social,economic,andpoliticalaswellasthesecuritydimensionsofthat
order.
I donotexpectthatwewill,oreventhatweshould,arriveatsome
kindofuniformconsensusaboutwhatkindoforder(ifany)weshouldbe
tryingtobuild,oraboutwhatpoliciesaremostlikelytobringussuc-
cess.Continuingdebateoverthoseissuesis aninevitableconsequenceof
thedifferentinterestsandvaluesfoundinourcomplexsociety;thefour
majorschoolsandmanyothervoicescan,should,andwillhavetheirsay
inbroaddiscussionovertheproperaims,methods,andlimitsofAmeri-
canforeignpolicy.
Neverthelesswecanandshouldbeabletoreacha nationalconsensus
about theneedfor theUnitedStatestoplaytherole of,inColonel
House'sphrase,"thegyroscopeofworldorder."Asthedominantglobal
powerfor mostofthe twentiethcentury, the UnitedStatesentered
the twenty-first as a globalhegemonic powerona novel scale. The
Britishworldhegemonyofthenineteenthcenturywasneitherasinten-
siveorasextensiveas theAmericansystembecameattheendofthe
ColdWar.TheSpanishhegemonyofthesixteenthandearlyseventeenth
centuries scarcely touched China, India,andJapan,while theOtto-
mansultansmetHolyRomanEmperorCharlesVandKingPhilipII
ofSpainonatleastequalterms.Beforethat,noempirestretchedacross
theAtlanticorsimultaneouslyincorporatedtheheartlandsofEurope
andAsia.
TheAmericanhegemonytodayis militarilysupreme,culturallyper-
vasive,technologicallydominant,andeconomicallydynamic.Itsallies
andenemiesalikefearbeingswallowedupinit;itisthebasicfactof
internationallife.
Surprisingly,however, thereis littlediscussionand lessconsensus
intheUnitedStatesaboutwhatsomemightcallourhegemonybut
others-perhapsskepticalJeffersonians-mightcall ourempire.Isit
goodfortheAmericanpeople?Whatisitsstructure?Whereareitsvul-
nerabilities andstrongpoints? ShouldAmerican foreign policy con-
sciouslyseektostrengthenthesystem'sholdontheworld,beindifferent
tothesystem,oractivelyseektoreducethenation'sworldrole?How,if
atall,shouldthesystembechangedorreformed?Howvaluableisitto
theAmericanpeople?Whatpriceisworthpayingtodefendit?Assum-
ingthatglobalhegemonyisdesirablefromthestandpointoftheAmeri-