University:
Boston University
Course:
CAS HI 176 | World History 1500-Present
Academic year:

2024
Views:

310

Pages:

1
Author:

Konner Hansen

United States in the World: Foreign Policy since 1898 Scope and Objective of the Course: In this survey course we are interested in examining the intellectual foundations of U.S. foreign policy as it has evolved since 1898. Americans wrestled in the early part of the twentieth century with the meaning of empire and those problems associated with acquiring overseas territory after the brief war again Spain. During World War One and in its wake, Americans examined anew their foreign relationships, particularly as they touched upon the great European powers and Japan. Beginning with FDR’s presidency in 1933, three lines of thought on international policy competed for dominance: “isolationism” from Europe, collective universalism, and unilateral universalism. The majority of Americans in the 1930s believed that Washington should concentrate on correcting social-economic problems at home and avoid direct involvement with quarrels and rivalries in East Asia and Europe. This “isolationist” attitude was evidenced in America’s continuing refusal to join or cooperate closely with the League of Nations. The popular wisdom after Pearl Harbor, however, held that only in concert with the other great powers—first via the so-called Grand Alliance, then the United Nations—could the United States assure its security and promote a semblance of international security. But with the onset of the Cold War, growing disillusionment with the UN, and a general recognition that the United States was not just one of several strong states but the preeminent one in the West, a new presumption developed: the U.S. must act energetically around the globe. This notion informed the Truman Doctrine and NSC 68—to protect the wide-ranging interests of the U.S. and to safeguard the Western zone in Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Since the end of the Cold War and implosion of Soviet power, American policymakers have experimented (alternated) with versions of collective universalism and unhampered unilateralism. Within these broad lines—“isolationism,” collective universalism, unilateral universalism—more specific concepts and ideas have played a part in shaping U.S. policy. We shall examine them from the standpoint of their analytical validity and political influence. We will be especially concerned to see how they have meshed with other determinants of foreign policy: economic factors, bureaucratic and domestic politics, the behavior of U.S. adversaries and allies. Finally, attention will also be given to examining the ideas and actions of prominent policymakers (and their critics) such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Dean Acheson, George Kennan, John Foster Dulles, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Into this weave we will also give attention to questions touching upon human rights dilemmas and current Middle Eastern international relations. 1

United States in the World Foreign Policy Since 1898

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