The indisputable first objective of American policy must be to safeguard and enhance liberty, security, and prosperity for America’s citizens. That means promoting the kind of world order that America helped shape after World War II, a world in which democratic and free-market systems prevail. But it also must take on the challenge of integrating much of the rest of the world into this Western world order. That is not charity; it’s profoundly in America’s self-interest.
Today, the most significant foreign policy challenges are no longer defined by geography. Instead, many problems around the globe — terrorism, international slavery, climate change — stem from groups and issues that don’t fit neatly into friendly or enemy states. These issues require global cooperation to solve, not just between governments but with the involvement of other countries and even non-governmental organizations.
It’s a challenge that requires a complex machine, one whose many parts include the Department of State, the National Security Council, and other agencies; Congress; interest groups, think tanks, and academia; the media; and ordinary Americans. And it’s a machine that has grown in complexity and reach over the years.
But if it’s used poorly, the unquestioned power of the United States can become a liability rather than an asset. It can breed resentment in our allies, for example, as the American “way of life” is judged morally and culturally retrograde. And it can fuel the rise of new powers — Russia and China in particular — that are increasingly assertive on the world stage.