The field of foreign policy involves the decisions and actions taken by the government of a country to manage its relations with other countries. The policymaking process is a combination of politics, economics, and military might that affects nations around the world.
In the past, the United States has often used its power as a way to advance its own values and interests, while at the same time helping to solve international crises. Its use of military force evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait, broke the deadlock in Haiti’s junta and Serbian atrocities in Kosovo, and ended al-Qaida’s grip on Afghanistan. Its dominance and control of the Organization of American States and other organizations with security and political character like NATO and the OECD give it leverage in building coalitions to address major international challenges.
As issues have become more global and transnational, the United States’s approach has shifted. It has been tasked with managing Russian aggression in Ukraine and other parts of Eurasia, fighting terrorist attacks in Africa and elsewhere, and responding to the impact of climate change on individual nations and regions.
As the world’s only superpower, the United States has the unique ability to shape a global order in which its values are widely accepted. However, that task is increasingly complex and requires a broader range of U.S. capabilities than in the past. Changes in the distribution of global power, the rise of non-Western powers, and the emergence of new nonstate actors have pushed U.S. policy makers to rethink some of the foundational principles of foreign policy in recent years.
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