Foreign policy is the government’s approach to international relations. It encompasses a wide range of issues and activities that affect the country’s security, economic, and political interests abroad. A country’s foreign policy is determined by the goals it sets for itself and the means it adopts to achieve them.
The goal of American foreign policy must be to safeguard and enhance America’s freedom, security, and prosperity. To do so requires an international order based on democracy, human rights, and free enterprise. It also requires integrating the world’s have-nots into the global economy. Pursuing this goal is not charity—it is profoundly in America’s self-interest.
Diplomatic negotiations to bring about peace and stability in troubled regions have been the foundation of United States foreign policy for decades. For example, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other members of the administration have been working with Israel and Hamas to reach a peaceful solution to the Gaza conflict.
In addition, the Obama administration pursued a strategic pivot to Asia, aimed at ending costly “forever wars” in the Middle East and focusing on emerging global priorities. This shift reaffirmed U.S. ties with Asian allies and partners, including China, and sought to draw down our military engagement in the region.
While the successes of American policy mean that no power today poses a hegemonic threat to Eurasia as first Germany and then the Soviet Union did in previous centuries, lesser-order threats still exist from places like Pyongyang and Tehran. The United States must strengthen its alliances and forge new ones to counter the growing influence of China, Russia, and other rivals.
