TheKaleidoscopeof AmericanForeignPolicy 3 Iandtoobellicoseinwar,tooneutralistorappeasinginnegotiationortoo
intransigent."!
Forsome,theprimarydangeristhatuneducatedpublicopinionwill
leadtheUnitedStatesintoanaggressive,unilateralforeignpolicy.In
thisview,populistinfluenceinforeignpolicy,magnifiedbydemagogues,
posesa seriousandchronicthreat.AccordingtoformerpresidentCarter,
RonaldReagan'srabble-rousingoppositiontothePanamaCanalTreaty
("Webuiltit,wepaidforit,it'soursandweshouldtellTorrijosand
companythatwearegoingtokeepit!")waspopularbecauseReaganpre-
sentedtheissue"simplistically."2InCarter'sview,mature,enlightened
statesmen,withtheirsensibleprogramsformultilateralcooperation,are
toofrequentlycheckedandhinderedbytheblindpassionsofanignorant
populace,whipped upintofrenzies by unscrupulous politicians.The
publicisa savagebeast;werouseitatourperil.
OthersagreethatAmericanpopularopinionisdangerousandun-
informed,butworrythattheconsequencewillbe,nothotheadedaggres-
sion,buttimidandretiringisolationism. Writingin1994,New York
TimescolumnistAnthonyLewisattributedthelackofpublicsupportfor
PresidentBillClinton'sHaitipolicyto"ageneralpublicdisinclination
tosendAmericanforcesanywhereabroad,"andciteda dangerofpopulist
"neo-isolationism."3
AnotherschoolofthoughtblamestheappallingignoranceofAmeri-
canpublicopinionfortheprevalenceofwishy-washyidealisminourfor-
eignpolicy.Ina 1994speechgivenattheMalaysianStrategicResearch
Centre, HenryKissinger pointed to the profound ignorance ofthe
Americanpeopleasa causeforourflawedapproachtoforeignpolicy.He
notedthatduringtheReaganadministrationa pollfoundthat 30 per-
centoftherespondentsidentifiedNorwayasthecountrywherethecon-
traswerefighting.^4 TothishistoricortraditionalAmericanignorance,
Kissingercharged,wehavenowaddeda newlayer.Thecurrentgenera-
tion,beingraisedontelevisionratherthanbooks,haslearnedtoform
"impressions"ratherthantohave"ideas."5Theresultofourignoranceis
a foreignpolicythatrejectsthetried-and-truemethodofmaintaining
thebalanceofpowertobaseitselfon"abeliefthatyou[can]solveprob-
lemsbya missionaryactivity"-spreadingdemocracy.6
Othersdon'tblamethepopulaceatall.Lippmann,theysay,iswrong:
Thepopularinstinctsaresound;itis theeliteswhoaretoblameforour
failures.ForsocialcriticEricAlterman,a moredemocraticandpopulist
foreignpolicywouldbea betterforeignpolicy.7Alargegroupofcritics