The sustainability of American power ultimately depends on the extent to which other countries believe it is deployed not just in America’s own interests but also in theirs. After World War II, the United States forged new security institutions like NATO and the United Nations and international agreements such as the Marshall Plan, the Bretton Woods monetary system, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that promoted economic recovery and development. Those arrangements preserved and extended U.S. influence, but they did so in a way that benefited all participants.
Promoting the spread of democracy and open markets around the globe requires maintaining America’s military edge, both in terms of technological superiority and its ability to bring force to bear at a moment of our choosing. It also requires engaging steadfastly with our allies to ensure their interests are fully served, and it calls for a steady stream of diplomacy with those who do not share our values and interests.
While the partisan gaps on most foreign policy issues have gotten smaller since 2021, questions such as whether to engage in another war in the Middle East and how to encourage democracy in places like North Korea, South Korea, and China, are now causing friction. In “Grand Delusion,” author David Simon argues that well-meaning American leaders almost always miscalculate when it comes to foreign policy, usually because they fail to properly match pie-in-the-sky goals with limited means. This is certainly true in the case of the Middle East, and it is why so many Americans today are skeptical about getting involved there again.