One might say that foreign policy is the set of decisions about a country’s international engagement — the role it plays in global politics. But it can also be seen as the broader, more philosophical questions of how to balance a nation’s interests against its resources and capabilities in an interdependent world.
In our latest poll, partisan differences on most foreign policy issues have narrowed since 2021. But in many cases, the positions of the two major parties still differ significantly. For example, support for Israel and Ukraine are priorities for a majority of Republicans (48%) but not Democrats (6%). And in both parties, the views of moderates and conservatives on these issues differ from those of liberals.
The sustainability of American power depends, to a great extent, on whether others believe that it is being used not just in America’s own interest but in theirs as well. After World War II, for example, the United States helped to create institutions and regimes that preserved and extended its hegemony — including the UN and NATO, the Marshall Plan, the Bretton Woods monetary system, and the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs.
For Americanists, these institutions and policies are a sign that the United States is not omnipotent, but rather far more capable than most of its competitors in the modern world. They also recognize that some crucial problems — from global warming to global terrorism – defy unilateral solutions.