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

38 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

ignore,buritisfarfrombeingtheonlyfish,oreventhemostinteresting
fish,inthesea.AsiaandLatinAmericahavethereforereceiveda major
shareofAmericanattentionandconcern;whereasaneconomicallyori-
entedforeignpolicyfocusingonthethirdworldseemstomanyConti-
nentaliststobeunworthyofseriousconsideration.
AsearlyasthetimeoftheStuarts,Anglo-Americanstrategicthought
grappledwithquestionsofworldorder.As maritimetradingpeoples,
theBritishandtheAmericanswerebusyweavingwebsoftradeand
investmentcoveringwholecontinentsandseas.ElihuYale, thetrader
fromcolonialConnecticurwhosesuccesswiththeEastIndiaCompany
fundedthebequestthatgavehisnametoYaleCollege,wasalreadypart
ofa globaleconomy.Maintainingthesecurityofthatglobalsystemwas
theconcernoftheLondonmerchantsandfinancialmagnatesoftheday,
as wellas oftheking'sministers. Theeighteenth-century mobthat
dumped EastIndiantea intoBostonHarborwas protestinginpart
againsttheeconomicpoliciesbywhichtheBririshgovernmentofthe
daysoughttofurtherwhatwouldnowbecalledglobalizationunder
Britishhegemony.'9
Callitempire,hegemony,worldorder,orglobalization,thequestion
ofglobaleconomicintegrationunderBritishorAmericanauspicesand
thepoliticalstrategiesthatadvancethisgreatprocesshavebeenator
nearthecenterofbothAmericanandBritishforeignanddomesticpoli-
ticsforcenturies.FredericktheGreatthoughtabouthowtosnatchSile-
siafrom MariaTheresa; AlexanderHamiltonthought abouthowto
integratetheinfantAmericaneconomyintotheBritishworldsystemon
thebestpossibleterms.
FromthestandpointofFredericktheGreatandthemanyforeign
policyobserverswhostill(oftenunconsciously)sharethebasicfeaturesof
hisworldview,whatHamiltonwasdoingw~snotrealforeignpolicyat
all-itwassomethingvulgarandmercantile.Frederickmayhavehada
point,butofcourseit wasHamiltonratherthanFrederickwholaidthe
foundationsofworldpower.

F

inally,Continentalrealismhasathirdsetofassumptionsabout

foreignpolicyprocessesthatsimplymakesitimpossibleforthose

consciously orunconsciously under itsinfluence tothinkcoherently

abourAmericanforeignpolicy.Theseassumptionsincludea wholeseries

ofideasaboutthenatureofpoliticalpower,theroleofthestateinsoci-

ety,andthestrengthsandweaknessesofdemocracy.