What is America’s Foreign Policy?

The Foreign Policy of the United States has become skewed since September 11, 2001. You ask either Presidential candidate about the US foreign policy and he would talk about Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran and the emerging threat to the world. If you happen to ask McCain about his foreign policy vision, he would add the Israel-Palestine conflict and maybe trade with China. Conversely, if you happen to ask Obama the same question, he would mention Pakistan and Kenya to show his better credentials. The worst thing about the whole conversation is the knowledge of the person who is asking the questions in the first place. How did we reach here?

United States of America has followed an isolationist foreign policy for most of it’s existence. The first major international entanglement occurred during the First World War. America joined the Allied Powers to defeat the Central Powers but refused to Join the League Of Nations after the Treaty of Versailles. This engagement was driven because of America’s self interest rather than any moral obligations. The United States was facing the threats from German U-boats to it’s maritime trade and was therefore driven to protect it’s vital national interests. Once an uneasy peace was negotiated in Europe, Americans went back to its isolationist posture.

There has been no real debate about America’s lack of international participation during the period between the First and the Second World Wars. This isolationist attitude, in my opinion, resulted in the rise of Nazism, Fascism and Communism in Europe and Russia. The British Empire was not in a position to handle the events in Europe and beyond. There was a power vacuum at the international level and Hitler filled that space with tragic consequences. I believe this resulted in creating the environment for the Second World War. With this, America was back at the table.

The election of 1932 and the takeover of the United States Presidency on March 4, 1933 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt brought the American isolation to an end. Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Navy was no nativist. He was not only familiar with South America but also acutely aware of the growing European dilemma. The US congress tried everything to continue with it’s paranoia with international affairs, but Roosevelt was educated enough to reject that and built foreign alliances. These initiatives served him well during World War II.