Lady Bug’s Reviews > Diplomacy > Status Update

Until the turn of the twentieth century,American foreign policy was basically quite simple: to fulfill the country’s manifest destiny, and to remain free of entanglements overseas.
The Monroe Doctrine went the next step by declaring that Europe must not become entangled in American affairs. And the Monroe’a idea of what constitutes American affairs, the whole Western Hemisphere, was expansive indeed.

Should America actively promote the spread of free institutions as a principal objective of its foreign policy? Or should it rely on the impact of its example?

Theorists of the balance of power often leave the impression that it is the natural form of international relations. In fact, balance-of-power systems have existed only rarely in history. For the greatest part of humanity and the longest periods of history, empire has been the typical mode of government. Empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system.