Development of Foreign Policy

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Prior to the establishment of the United States, which was formed with the end of the American Revolution, there was no foreign policy for the American new found state. However, this changed with the formation of the same. The policy then consisted mainly on its regional interests and had no regards of the international scene. This however came to pass with the advent of the Spanish-American war. What however ought to be noted is that the regional policy had in its ideals an aim of creating an ‘Empire of Liberty’. The US had its first taste of having a foreign affairs office through the First Congress in 1789 upon the creation of the cabinet level Department of Foreign Affairs. This was soon thereafter renamed to Department of States whereas the title of secretary of foreign affairs saw itself renamed to Secretary of State. This saw the return of Thomas Jefferson from France so that he could run the department. Prior to WW1, the US foreign policy remained predominantly isolated. This however saw pragmatic shifts from isolationistic nature upon the end of the war up to the eruption of WWII. By this time the US was gaining ground as a world power, a fact that was not in dispute by the end of the Cold War (Herring, 2008). There has however been a noticed shift from a realistic school of thought in regards to the US to an idealistic one. These shifts have been most notable from the 19th century and have come to be mostly regarded as the Wilsonian school of international relations (Russell, 2000). Foreign policies have in common the concepts of observance of good faith, ensuring that all nations are met with justice as well as the cultivation of peace and harmony with all. They also fight against incorrigible antagonisms against spe... ... middle of paper ... .... These changes have seen the policy shift from a bipolar objective to a multipolar one. This could have the calling behind President’s Barrack Obama expression of will to repair relations with the Muslim world. This has been despite the continued irritation of the US foreign policy to the Arab world to date. To this end, the US Foreign Policy has received both positive and negative reception in the world over. References Herring, G. C. (2008). From colony to superpower: US foreign relations since 1776. Depression. Oxford University Press. Manela, E. (2009). The Wilsonian Moment. Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism (p. 331). Oxford University Press. Russell, R. (2000). American Diplomatic Realism: A Tradition Practiced and Preached by George F. Kennan. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 11(3), 159. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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