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Us Foreign Policy

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1. Introduction

The goals and norms of American foreign policy can be traced over a number of centuries. Starting in 1776, foreign policy in the United States (US) has gone through a rollercoaster of competing strategies and schools of thought. Two competing strategies of Isolationism and Internationalism have taken their turns headlining the foreign policy principles of various American governments. Importantly, the reasons for the to and fro movement between these two extremes can not be linked to a single source but to a multitude of elements both internal and external shaping American thinking.

In the sections that follow, a historical path will be traced through American foreign policy starting in 1776 with a watershed period …show more content…

Carruthers (2005: 64) identifies America's rapid industrial expansion as one of the key features of the 1900s.

3. The 1900s up to the end of World War II Initially foreign policy during this period rested upon what was known as Dollar diplomacy referring to America's preference for a business oriented foreign policy rather than the use of force (Kegley et al, 2003: 32). The rest of this period would be marked by three world changing events, namely the First and Second World Wars and the great depression. Two important US Presidents also appeared during this period.

The first was Woodrow Wilson, from 1912-1921. Wilson is most famous firstly for his long list of military interventions, depicting a shift in US policy towards interventionism. He is further remembered for his role in leading the US into World War I (WWI). And finally and perhaps most importantly from a global perspective, his calls for a system of collective security which eventually led to the formation of the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations (Kegley et al, 2003: 34). America's late entrance into WWI was followed by a world-wide impetus to not return to a state of war ever again. Wilson led this revolution with his famous fourteen points outlining his vision for a more peaceful and stable world order

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