Diplomacy

The Roots of American and European Foreign Policy

History shows that powerful nations shape the international system according to their own values. France introduced the modern nation-state, Great Britain developed the balance of power, and the United States insisted its democratic values were universal. American foreign policy has historically swung between perfecting democracy at home and crusading for it abroad. Because America was shielded by two oceans, it did not face the constant European security threats, leading to a persistent belief that international law could permanently replace power politics.

In its early years, the United States practiced a sophisticated form of self-interest. While the Founding Fathers publicly criticized European power politics, they carefully navigated rivalries between France and Great Britain to secure independence and expand their territory. By 1823, the Monroe Doctrine warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere while pledging strict American neutrality in Europe. This allowed the United States to grow into a great power while maintaining a strong sense of moral superiority over the old world.

By the late nineteenth century, America had become a leading industrial power with global reach. President Theodore Roosevelt believed America must actively participate in the global balance of power to protect its national interests. He managed this balance by supporting Japan against Russia and siding with Britain and France to check German ambitions. To Roosevelt, America was a great power among equals, and its security depended entirely on a stable distribution of military force.

President Woodrow Wilson offered a fundamentally opposite justification for America's global role. He argued that permanent peace could only be achieved through the spread of democracy and collective security. When he led the nation into World War I, he did so to make the world safe for democracy and to establish a League of Nations. The tension between Roosevelt's realism and Wilson's idealism has defined American statecraft ever since.