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

TheKaleidoscopeof AmericanForeignPolicy 35

is;itfocusesonlyontheapproachesandideasemanatingfromtheConti-
nentalpowersofnineteenth-centuryEurope(especiallyPrussia,France,
andAustria)andignoresthemanydistinctivefeaturesthatmarkedthe
foreignpolicyexperienceofBritainduringthatcenturyandtheUnited
States today. Indeed, manyconventional criticsofAmericanforeign
policyfindcertainstrainsofnineteenth-centuryBritishforeignpolicy
(notablytheliberal,values-drivenforeignpolicyofPrimeMinisterWil-
liamGladstone)almostasvulgarandappallingas theyfind American
foreignpolicytoday.
Continentalrealism,asthisapproachtoforeignpolicycanbecalled,
remainsextremelyinfluentialinacademeandinwhatAltermancallsthe
punditocracy;unfortunatelyitadherestoa setofassumptions-some
conscious,somelessso--aboutforeignpolicythatmakeitalmostimpos-
sibletounderstandwhatAmericanforeignpolicyisorhowandwhyit
works.
Continentalrealismisnotjustthebeliefthat"realism"ratherthan
"idealism"isthemostappropriateideologicalframeworkwithinwhich
tounderstandandtopursuethediplomaticlifeofnations.Realism,the
beliefthatcountriesaredrivenbyinterestsandthequestforpowerin
internationalrelationsratherthanidealsandbenevolence,is widespread
amongAnglo-AmericansaswellasContinentals.Infact,manyConti-
nentalEuropeanshavefeltovertheyearsthatwhenitcomestoputting
theprinciples(sotospeak)ofrealismintopractice,thehypocriticaland
greedyAnglo-AmericanshavefaroutdonetheirContinentalrivals.
Butinadditiontothebeliefthatinternationalrelationsareonatleast
somelevelsanamoralstruggleofallagainstall,Continentalrealismalso
featuressomedistinctivebeliefsaboutthewaystatesareorganized,the
natureoftheinterests theypursue,andthekindofpolicyprocessesthat
leadtosuccess. Theseassumptionssimplydo notapplytoAmerican
reality,andattemptingtounderstandAmericanhistoryandpolicy in
theirlightleadsonlytooneerrorafteranother.Itislikeusingamapof
Oregontoplana roadtripinGeorgia;thereisnowaytoavoidgetting
lost.
Thosewhoassumethateffectiveforeignpolicymustbemadetoday
inthewaysthegreatpowersofContinentalEuropemadeitinthenine-
teenthcentury,andthattheaimsofeffectiveforeignpolicymustalways
andeverywhereberestrictedtothekindsofgoalsthata Metternichora
Bismarckwouldrecognizeand support,thinkthatthe idealforeign
policylooksina senselikea nineteenth-centuryrealistpainting.Ameri-