The New Monroe Doctrine
In the formative years of our Republic, our foreign policy was guided by the Monroe Doctrine which stated that the United States will not abide any further European colonization in the Americas. Of course, we were not yet powerful enough to back that up. But the genius of the doctrine was we didn’t have to back it up. Britain, who was powerful, would also not abide any further colonization, as that would upset the balance of power in Europe. We could have allied ourselves with Britain, but then the world would not see us as an independent player.
The Monroe Doctrine had another key effect. It shifted the focus of American foreign policy away from Europe and toward the Americas. By European standards, we were third-rate. By American standards, we were a powerhouse. Over the next century, we avoided Europe’s wars and strengthened our leadership in the Americas.
Today, we find ourselves debating who should be our new ambassador to the United Nations. The chief argument against President Bush’s nominee, John Bolton, is “what will the world, in particular our European allies, think of us if we send this gruff conservative to the UN?” The reply is, “this gruff conservative is just the kind of medicine the UN needs.”
And why should we care what the rest of the world, in particular Europe, thinks of us? Our paramount interest is the security of freedom around the world. If that is at odds with the preferences of the Europeans, then too bad. The Bush Doctrine is often criticized as arrogant nose-thumbing. The same criticism could be leveled against the Monroe Doctrine. In 1823, we turned away from Europe and proclaimed our ideals more righteous and enlightened.
In the 19th century, we declared that the Americas will be free of European oppression so that liberty may take root. Today, our goal is broader. We seek to liberate all freedom loving people from any oppressor. We declare, “
the survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.” Today we defend liberty against oppressors and are not deterred by the preferences of our more cautious European allies. Today we again declare our ideals more righteous and enlightened and turn away from those who would call our ideals undiplomatic. We refuse to be guided by European pessimism, just as in 1823 we refused to be guided by European politics. We refuse and separate ourselves from Europe, not because we are arrogant or ignorant of the nuances of global politics, but because we believe freedom is eternally right.
© Copyright 2005, Jason E. Heath
All rights reserved