Foreign policy aims to establish and maintain the United States’ diplomatic relations with other countries. It includes the promotion of free trade, arms control agreements, and other forms of international coordination on issues such as pandemics and climate change. It also seeks to address national security and defense policies. Finally, it involves promoting a liberal world order through economic aid and military alliances.
Keeping the peace around the globe is an enormous task, and it is unrealistic to think that America can achieve its goals without significant expenditures of time, energy, and resources. Moreover, history shows that constant warfare drains the nation’s strength and ultimately leads to irreversible decline.
In the current period of international turbulence, Washington appears to be trapped in a pattern of reaction rather than leadership. Its entanglements in Ukraine and the Middle East, its support for Israel, its effort to limit Russia’s influence in Europe, its efforts to address China’s rise, and its attempt to revive U.S. diplomacy after COVID-19 have strained American resources and provoked public discontent.
The broader question is whether the United States has any strategy for dealing with these challenges and threats. Many of those who advocate a strong foreign policy argue that the United States must remain a global leader. However, they differ widely about what this role should entail. Some, known as Americanists, emphasize the country’s dominant position in the world and assume that it can assert its will unilaterally. Others, called globalists, emphasize the need for international cooperation and warn that attempting to go it alone can have disastrous consequences.