US Role in the World

In today’s interconnected world, no country can effectively pursue its interests without the support and cooperation of others. From the environment to genocide to nuclear proliferation, the global problems we face today require all nations to work together. Making the world a safe, just and equitable place requires teamwork and a common set of rules by which we all can live.

The United States has a strong tradition of working to strengthen multilateral cooperation to address the world’s most pressing problems. The U.S. helped to found the United Nations to prevent war, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect all individuals, and launched the Marshall Plan to help our allies rebuild their economies. According to our nation’s conventional wisdom of the past sixty years, working in partnership with others to solve global problems is in America’s enlightened self-interest. And for many decades, the U.S. has garnered a great deal of respect and admiration in the world for this international leadership role.

However, that respect and admiration is waning. Aggressive rhetoric towards other nations, the war in Iraq, reduced attention to international institutions and the concerns of other nations have shaken the world’s confidence in U.S. leadership. As a result, many countries increasingly see U.S. influence on global affairs as negative.

Moreover, current U.S. policies do not reflect the view of the majority of Americans who support effective and pragmatic global engagement to prevent international crises. In a 2006 Knowledge Networks poll, 75 percent of Americans agreed that “the U.S. should do its share in efforts to solve international problems together with other countries.” By comparison, only 10 percent said the U.S. should be the pre-eminent world leader in solving problems and 12 percent said the U.S. should withdraw from solving global problems altogether.