The policies that determine America’s relationships with other nations and foreign entities. They include diplomatic policy, defense and security policies, economic policy, international human rights policies, and other issues that address the United States’ global responsibilities.
For many voters, the big issue is how much their country should engage in world affairs. This is driven in part by ideology. A majority of people on the left, in the US and elsewhere, say it is best for their country to be active in world affairs, while a significant minority of those on the right hold the opposite view. In the US, these differences are most stark between liberals and conservatives.
In the past, majorities across political parties in the United States and abroad have been willing to trade off unilateralism against multilateralism in order to achieve important goals. They included establishing institutions that would protect and advance freedom around the globe, including the United Nations and NATO; promoting free trade through the Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods monetary system; and creating regimes to promote global stability. This approach preserved and extended American power in ways that benefited all who participated.
However, as Madeleine Albright has noted, the sustainability of American power depends on whether others believe that it is used in their interests and not just America’s. That means that if the United States wants to maintain its preeminent role, it needs to create an international order that is both market-based and democratic, which will require it to lead as well as listen, and to give as well as take.
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