The Populist Impact on US Foreign Policy Essay (Critical Writing)

While Republicans and Democrats currently starkly disagree regarding how involvement should occur and what the country’s international policy interests should be, most Americans still embrace the United States’ prolonged interaction with the world. Foreign policy disagreements between the factions in history were frequently minor. Under President Obama, the disparity has gradually widened to unparalleled heights and is now more significant than ever. The extent to which such opposing viewpoints create a real dilemma in the November election between the imperialist ideology embraced by Trump and the more conventional, cooperative approach advocated by Democratic contender Hillary Clinton is highlighted.

Attitudes of American exclusivity are vital areas where the two parties diverge most. Since Trump was inaugurated, the gap between Republicans and Democrats who believe that the United States possesses a distinctiveness that renders it the best country on the planet has significantly expanded. In 2012, 66 percent of Democrats and 85 percent of Republicans agreed that the United States was indeed the finest country in the world. Eighty percent of Republicans still believe that presently, but among Democrats, that number has dropped to 35 percent, a 21-point decline since towards 2016 elections¹. Today, more than three-quarters of Democrats believe that the United States is not superior to other nations.

A review of potential challenges to essential American concerns, and thus, policy priorities, also reveals the stark divisions between Republicans and Democrats. The top dangers listed by Republicans do not include any of the most significant threats listed by Democrats. Republicans believe that risks to the United States primarily originate from abroad, whereas Democrats perceive dangers within and beyond the country. According to Democrats, the top dangers to the United States’ fundamental concerns are global warming, racial inequity at home, foreign meddling in the U.S. elections, and socioeconomic disparity². According to Republicans, the rise of China as a global power, transnational crime, a significant influx of immigrants and refugees, internal violent radicalism, and Iran’s nuclear capability are the greatest dangers to crucial U.S. values.

The election of 2016 seems to have more drastically than any other in living memory disrupted the dynamics of American foreign policy. Under 25% of Republicans believe that racism or economic disparity threatens important U.S. values³. Republicans and Democrats concur that the international financial crisis is the sixth-leading concern. Even though two-thirds of Americans, including an overwhelming plurality spanning partisan lines, believe that the United States must play a leading role in the globe, these gaps remain. However, fewer than one-third of people generally favor having the United States play a leading role. Over two-thirds of respondents prefer that other countries share the U.S. role⁴. The majority of Americans accept that issues like environmental degradation are so significant and intricate that only collaborative efforts can appropriately address them.

Democrats seem more inclined than Republicans to prioritize improving fundamental civic rights, advancing democracy overseas, and raising socioeconomic levels in developing countries. Even though neither party gives the advancement of democracy abroad top importance, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe this needs to be a significant international policy objective. This way of thinking encourages unilateral combat intervention while being skeptical of multilateral diplomacy, free trade agreements, immigration, and the spread of democracy abroad.

Republican and Democratic perspectives on how important it is to address global warming and human smuggling show some of the most significant gaps between them. Since 2005, there has been a political divide on the importance of stopping illegal immigration, but the margin right now is substantial. Democrats are still more inclined than Republicans to believe that combating global warming should be a key priority. Ideally, America’s national security cannot be compromised despite the variances between both parties because, at the end of it all, they are all Americans.

Reference

Löfflmann, G. (2019). America first and the populist impact on U.S. foreign policy. Survival, 61(6), 115–138. Web.

Footnotes

1. Löfflmann, G. (2019). America first and the populist impact on U.S. foreign policy. Survival, 61(6), 115–138. Web.
2. Löfflmann, G. (2019). America first and the populist impact on U.S. foreign policy. Survival, 61(6), 115–138. Web.
3. Löfflmann, G. (2019). America first and the populist impact on U.S. foreign policy. Survival, 61(6), 115–138. Web.
4. Löfflmann, G. (2019). America first and the populist impact on U.S. foreign policy. Survival, 61(6), 115–138. Web.