Brent Scowcroft Center Associate Director Alex Ward writes for Foreign Policy on Donald Trump’s noninterventionist foreign policy:
Forr no reason should Donald Trump become the next president of the United States. His stances on immigration and taxes, not to mention his attitude toward women, are only a few of the host of reasons he is not fit for the country’s highest office. (We can be thankful that it appears he will not get his party’s nomination.) Despite all that, he still has something to offer Washington. For the rest of the campaign, and especially at the debate Wednesday, listen closely to The Donald’s foreign policy.
You heard me right. After years of American adventurism underwritten by neoconservative and liberal interventionist administrations, Donald Trump — knowingly or unknowingly — has consistently outlined a more restrained vision for America’s relations with the world than many in both parties, including most of the other presidential candidates, have offered. Yes, he should be silenced on most issues. And it’s probably good news that he’s slipping in the polls. But for now, when it comes to foreign policy, the inside-the-beltway community should not stand between Trump and the microphone.
Since the days of Woodrow Wilson, America has toggled between liberal interventionists and neoconservatives. Their main drives are to spread American influence by democratization, the liberals with institutions and “soft power” and neoconservatives, usually, with force. No American foreign-policy debate, especially since World War II, has proceeded without one of these camps animating the ultimate course of action. It has led to some successes, like ending a war in Bosnia, but it has led to many failures, like the current crises in Iraq and Libya. But now an unlikely outsider is offering a different way of thinking about foreign policy. It’s not all pretty, but it is different. And it deserves some serious consideration.