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

TheFutureofAmericanForeignPolicy 333

WhatkindofworldistheUnitedStatestryingtocreate?Whatisthe
shapeoftheultimatetrade-offbetweena unilateralhegemonyinwhich
theUnitedStatesdominatesallothercountriestothefullextentpossible
butthenfindsitselflargelyalonewhenthreatsarise,andakindofmulti-
lateralworldsysteminwhichtheUnitedStatesgivesupsomecontrol
butgetsmorehelp?
Theproblemsandneedsoftheworldarealmostinfinite.Sotooare
the potential challenges to American interests. Giventhe need for
WilsonianandHamiltonianglobalpolicies,andgivenalsotherealcon-
straints, internaland external, politicaland economic, onAmerican
power,theUnitedStatesneeds"strategicelegance"-agrandnational
strategythatdistinguishesbetweenthevitalandthesecondaryinterests
ofthecountry,andsecuresallofthevitalinterestsandasmanyofthesec-
ondaryinterestsascanreasonablybeachievedwiththefewestrisksand
costs.
StrategicelegancewasthemarkoftheMonroeDoctrine;itpermeates
WalterLippmann'sbestworkanditprofoundlyinformstheconceptof
containmentas proposedbyGeorgeKennan.Strategiceleganceis the
highestqualityoftheJeffersonianmindandthesupremegiftoftheJef-
fersoniantradition.Itis perhapsthesinglemost-neededqualitynowin
Americanforeignpolicy.
Itisthisapproachthatcanbestbringabouta basicstrategicconsen-
susfortheUnitedStates.Aclearstatementofnationalinterestsandan
elegantgrandstrategy,plainlyexpressedandclearlyreasoned,willin
goodtimewinthesupportoftheAmericanpeople.Jeffersoniangrand
strategistscanandshouldharnesssometimesinflatedHamiltonianand
Wilsonianeagernessfornewworldordersandgrandlegalandpolitical
structures,whilepersuadingJ acksoniansoftherealimportanceofpared-
down, simplified, and streamlined forms ofAmerican international
engagement. Thatjobhastobedoneinthelightofa commonsense
approachtoAmericansecurityandsovereignty,andtotheveryreallink-
agesanddependenciesthatengageAmericans,whetherwelikeitornot,
withthedestiniesofalltheotherpeopleontheplanet.
IfJeffersonianstrategistsrisetotheoccasion,theyhavetheoppor-
tunitytobuildtheforeignpolicyoftheAmericanfuture,muchasJohn
QuincyAdamssetusona coursethatlastedwellintothetwentieth
century.
Thealternativeislessappealing,bothtothenationandtoJefferson-
ianinterests.Jeffersonianscandoastheydidinthe1930Sandassomeof