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

210 SPECIALPR.OVIDENCE

JeffersonianmythoftheColdWarera:thatAmerica'sdemocraticvalues
bothathomeandabroadwerethetruthsofa simple,bygoneage.Inthe
complex,sophisticatedworldofthemiddleofthetwentiethcentury,the
AmericanpeopleneededtodiscoverthematuritytopartwiththeirJef-
fersonianideals.

U

nderallthesepressuresJeffersonianthoughtwentintoeclipse

andcameclosetodisappearingasoneofthefourmaininflu-

encesonAmericanforeignpolicy,andindomesticpolicyaswell.Never-

theless,JeffersonianidealsweretoodeeplyentrenchedinAmericanlifeto

vanishcompletely.Unpopularthoughtheirideassometimesbecame,Jef-

fersonianscontinuedtodotheirbesttoshapeAmericanpolicythrough

whatforthemwereoftenthedarkdaysofthemid-twentiethcentury.

InforeignpolicytheresidualstrengthofJeffersonianopinionmade

itselffeltinoppositiontoor,atmost,inverycriticalsupportoftheCold

War.Evenindecline,schoolsarenotmonoliths.PeoplewithJeffersonian

backgroundshaddifferentviewsduringtheColdWar.Unlikethesmall

groupintheUnitedStateswhoinprinciplesupportedsocialistrevolu-

tionsinthedevelopingworld,andtheevensmallernumberofAmeri-

canswhoconsciouslysupportedtheSovietUnion,Jeffersoniansgenerally

adoptedoneofanumberofpositions.

AminorityoftheJeffersonianminority,shiftinginsizebutalwaysof

intellectualimportance,believedthattheentireeffortoftheColdWar

wasunnecessary.Argumentsinsupportofthispositionchangedduring

thefortyyearsofconfrontationbutoftenincludedtheassertionthatthe

SovietUnionwasa defensive,notanoffensive,power. UnitedStates

policywasforcingitintohostility;ifwerelaxedandmadetheSoviet

Unionfeelmoresecure,internationaltensionwoulddiminish.

Another, typicallyJeffersonianargumentbrought forward during

theColdWarmaintainedthattheEuropean balanceofpowercould

regulate itself effectively without so much American participation.

WhatevertheUSSR'sintentionsmightbe,onceWesternEuropehad

stabilizedafterthewar,theSovietswerenolongercapableofdominating

Europe.TheSovietUnionwastoobackwardanditsinternaltensionstoo

great,whiletheWesternEuropeanshad nointerest inundergoinga

Sovietrevolution.

As thefocus oftheColdWarcompetitionshiftedtothedevelop-

ingworld,Jeffersonians(withoccasionalWilsoniansupport)arguedthat

Americanstrategywas counterproductive.Byallyingitselfwithcor-