A wide range of issues – from infectious diseases and poverty to climate change and population migration – now define the global landscape and demand American attention. These are new challenges that threaten the nation not just as moral wrongs but as clear threats to security.
The United States has the power and capacity to respond to these challenges. But it will need to cooperate with partners to make the most of its power and influence. This cooperation can extend the life of U.S. primacy, ensuring that the nation is not held hostage to the vicissitudes of its own power and limiting the rise of rivals.
It can also advance our values and interests. The wise use of military force evicted Iraqi forces from Kuwait, convinced Haiti’s junta to relinquish power, and broke the grip of al-Qaida in Afghanistan. And it can help bring democracy to nations like South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan while tying China into the global economy.
Americans want to work with other countries to encourage prosperity, good governance, and sustainable development. Those priorities, and the cooperative spirit that goes with them, have broad support across the political spectrum. Indeed, partisan differences on most foreign policy questions have narrowed since 2021, including those related to maintaining a military advantage and limiting the power of Russia and China. But a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a partisan issue, with Republicans and Democrats differing over its importance.