We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
In the National Interest: A new grand strategy for American foreign policy.
- Authors
Walt, Stephen M.
- Abstract
This article presents information on the American foreign policy. The U.S.'s economic, military, and ideological power is the taproot of its international influence and the ultimate guarantor of its security. Anyone who thinks the United States should try to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, promote human rights, advance the cause of democracy, or defend a particular ally must start by acknowledging that the U.S.'s ability to do any of these things depends first and foremost upon its power. Yet the U.S.'s position of primacy also fosters fear and resistance when its power is misused. Since the United States is so strong and its impact on others so pervasive, it inevitably attracts suspicion from other states and finds it difficult to elicit their full and enthusiastic cooperation. Offshore balancing, has been the U.S.'s traditional grand strategy. In this strategy, the United States deploys its power abroad only when there are direct threats to vital American interests. Offshore balancing assumes that only a few areas of the globe are of strategic importance to the United States.
- Subjects
UNITED States; INTERNATIONAL relations; WEAPONS of mass destruction; HUMAN rights; DEMOCRACY; MILITARY weapons
- Publication
Boston Review, 2005, Vol 30, Issue 1, p6
- ISSN
0734-2306
- Publication type
Article