National Interest

With every foreign policy failure, America falls further into a negative feedback loop

America, as a maritime nation, has always needed a navy to protect our interests across the seas

General Matthew Ridgway was a conservative internationalist who supported free institutions, defense alliances, and unsurpassed military might while opposing unsustainable wars beyond the range of national interests.

The United States was the first modern polity to claim political legitimacy on the basis of its recognition of certain truths, hard-wired into the human condition, about the human person and freedom. It would be unworthy of us not to take that history seriously as we think about our responsibilities in the world in the twenty-first century.

Imagine, if you will, a world full of completely unselfish people, of people who always thought of others first and not themselves; people who always sacrificed their own interests and looked for someone else to help. Paradise, right? Wrong.

Jair Bolsonaro is well-known for a series of controversial and offensive statements, including homophobic, sexist, and racist insults. Yet he emerged victorious in Brazil’s presidential election with around 58 million votes. Can the US government work with such a leader?

Helping nations in need often serves America’s most important interests while burnishing America’s highest ideals.

If Trump can somehow cajole or charm Kim into beginning a process that would allow the North Korean people to be treated like people, that would be a win for humanity.

For a century American foreign policy has often purportedly seesawed between cold focus on American interests through realpolitik or high-minded advocacy of democracy and human rights.