Foreign policy is one of the big issues of our day, perhaps second only to the economy in most Americans' minds. There are many different philosophical approaches on how to tackle foreign policy, but they can all be summed up in three main categories: isolationism, interventionism, and non-interventionism. There's a lot of ignorance and confusion as to what these three terms mean, however, and I'd like to clear up that confusion.
Isolationism vs. Non-Interventionism:
Wikipedia defines isolationism as the following:
The article goes on to clarify something very important:Isolationism is a category of foreign policies institutionalised by leaders who asserted that their nations' best interests were best served by keeping the affairs of other countries at a distance. Most Isolationists believe that limiting international involvement keeps their country from being drawn into dangerous and otherwise undesirable conflicts. Some strict Isolationists believe that their country is best served by even avoiding international trade agreements or other mutual assistance pacts.
This is where the most confusion resides. Often, people in American politics mistake isolationism for non-interventionism, and vice versa, but the two are completely different ideologies. Under non-interventionism, there is still trade, travel, and international cooperation. Under isolationism, there is no interaction with other countries whatsoever.Two distinct and unrelated concepts that are occasionally erroneously categorised as Isolationism are:
1. Non-interventionism – is the belief that political rulers should avoid military alliances with other nations and to avoid interfering in wars bearing no direct impact on their country. However, most non-interventionists are supporters of free trade, travel, and support certain international agreements, unlike isolationists.
2. Protectionism – Relates more often to economics, its proponents believe that there should be legal barriers in order to control trade and cultural exchange with people in other states.
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Originally Posted by Ransom
