As a nation, America must understand and engage the global community of states. This requires a foreign policy—which includes promoting American values, supporting international cooperation, and strengthening the U.S. economy by ensuring access to markets across the globe. This policy is carried out by a highly trained cadre of diplomats at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. It also involves a network of think tanks that study and analyze foreign policy.
The wise application of American power can advance the United States’s values and interests as well as those of most other democracies, and it can break deadlocks and stalemates that hamper progress on issues from halting the spread of nuclear weapons to preventing future outbreaks of war in the Balkans and beyond. For example, Woodrow Wilson’s commitment to promoting America’s system of political values and his belief that “a world united in democratic principles is the best hope for peace” ultimately prevented a third World War, a man-made catastrophe worse than any other.
But the United States is not omnipotent, and some crucial problems—such as combating global terrorism or stopping climate change—defy unilateral action. And even when Washington does act, its effectiveness depends on the extent to which other countries believe its actions are not driven solely by self-interest and that it is prepared to negotiate solutions that advance their interests as well. Cooperation can help to extend the life of American primacy by sharing the burdens of responsibility and maximizing the benefits of action for all.