By Dr. Katherine Harris:
Today’s global landscape is different from what it once was, and the United States must come to terms with the fact that it does not enjoy a foreordained supremacy on the world stage anymore. A recent Gallup Poll revealed that Americans believe the world at large sees the US more unfavorably (57%) than favorably (42% ), their worst assessment of the country’s image in 10 years. Their view is correct. There is anti-Americanism and strong global public apathy towards the United States around the world today.
After World War II, the US emerged as the world’s leading power and sought to establish its postwar dominance. The US devised the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, organized Western defenses and a network of American-led alliances through NATO, encouraged Europe to unite, established international institutions to stabilize commercial and financial relationships, and was the lead in creating the United Nations.
In the exercise of leadership, the US drew strength as a superpower not only from the abundance of its financial and military resources, but also from its moral authority as a democratic beacon guided by principles and practices that reflect our Constitution, our respect for the rule of law, and belief in human rights. Often called Pax Americana, the US employed its overwhelming power to shape and direct global events. For a couple of decades, succeeding presidential administrations took the lead on the world stage, thus commanding world respect. Some international scholars look back on those decades as the golden years.
History moves forward as an unstoppable force, however. The world has changed since those forceful days following World War II when the US picked up the baton of global leadership and fashioned a global system that was durable enough to last.
Ebb and Flow
After the Vietnam tragedy, the waning of détente, and Watergate, the Cold War dominated foreign policy and our collective consciousness. By the time Jimmy Carter left the White House, the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan, and the Iranian hostage crisis commanded the headlines. America appeared immobilized, dazed, and confused on the world stage.
Policy that became known as the Reagan Doctrine supported anti-Communist groups abroad and tied foreign aid to other nations’ willingness to embrace private enterprise capitalism. Reagan expanded the use of the military with the largest military budget in peacetime history – sending Marines to Lebanon, bombing raids on Libya, engaging in the contra war against Nicaragua, and invading Grenada, to name a few examples. Critics complained that the administration ignored seething global issues, such as the economic crises marked by Third World debt, famine, and trade wars.
In his inaugural address, President George H.W. Bush spoke of unity in both the legislative and executive branches in foreign affairs, and presenting a united front to the rest of the world, noting that “our differences ended at the water’s edge.” He was both conservative and pragmatic, and had significant experience in foreign affairs as Ambassador to the United Nations, US envoy to China, Director of the CIA, and Vice President. With his many international contacts, he was able to utilize one of his greatest strengths– personal diplomacy. It was a time when even Arab nations were more willing to work with the US as the US gained legitimacy within the Middle East, especially after the Persian Gulf War.
With the onset of the Clinton administration, there was a real opportunity to forge a far-reaching economic and political agenda. But Clinton’s focus was on domestic policy and did not intend to deviate much from existing foreign policy, except where it could improve the US economy. Yet, time and again, the Clinton administration got our nation mixed up in military actions around the globe. The US became the primary enforcer for United Nations directives, but failed to bring together Eastern Europe, and demonstrated a lack of resolve in Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans.
The Bush Doctrine declared a new approach to foreign policy in response to 9/11: “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.” Bush declared that the United States considered any nation that supported terrorist groups a hostile regime. In his State of the Union speech in January 2002, President Bush called out an “Axis of Evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq, and he declared all a threat to American security.
The last eight years of the Obama administration with its disastrous foreign policy exacerbated this slide in the standing of the US on the world stage. The attempt to master foreign policy as President is a laudable goal, but becomes particularly futile when specific knowledge is not translated into definitive courses of action. In fact, in Obama’s case, it only made things worse. Obama’s inability to master the politics of foreign policy resulted in an almost total addiction to erratic tactics, with policy zigzags from Syria, Libya, Israel, and the Middle East, in dealing with Islamic Terrorism, and Russia.
America Returns to the World Stage
The complexities of domestic and international politics are matched only by the difficulties of the national challenges that confront the US. Now is the time to re-engage and re-frame our geopolitical landscape, and we see that landscape transforming with President Trump. The fundamental question to be addressed by the new Trump administration is how the US will define its role, manage its relationship with allies and adversaries alike, and structure policies and forces to optimize its prospects for success on the world stage.
Although not the most politically experienced in accepted methods of geopolitical relations, President Trump has shown he is not timid in making world leaders know where he and the US stand. Trump has made it plain America will come first, whether it is through policies of immigration, trade, support for Israel, international terrorism, military strength, or security. This America First philosophy will have the effect of once again putting the US and the ideals it stands for front and center in the views of the world. Already in the first month of his administration, President Trump has engaged with global leaders, signaling a willingness to build bridges and restore relationships that have long been stagnant and failing. These immediate actions not only halt the erosion of America’s global standing but also foreshadows a return to global preeminence on the world stage.
I want to see America return to a posture and an image and a standard to make us proud once again.
Dr. Katherine (Kat) Harris is an OpsLens contributor, a veteran spouse, expat, and former military contractor with over 20 years of expertise in military/family transition, career counseling, higher education, organizational strategic planning, and international relations. She has conducted seminars and workshops for many Department of Army commands, plus many non-profit and community associations. She served as a translator and liaison for American, British, French, and German civilian/military communities in Berlin and Helmstedt, Germany.
Academically, Dr. Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies from The University of Maryland European Division, a Master of Arts in International Relations from Boston University, and a Doctorate in Education from Rowan University with an emphasis in leadership and higher education in a global context.
