Defending the United States’ interests and values abroad is a complicated job that requires an extensive global network of partners. It involves engaging allies, balancing competing priorities, and working with adversaries to overcome mistrust and build mutually beneficial relationships. And it requires a group of skilled and dedicated people—diplomats and civilians, at home and abroad—who are committed to making the U.S. foreign policy vision a reality.
America’s most fundamental goal must be to safeguard liberty, security, and prosperity. To do so, it must integrate the world’s “have-nots” into a zone of peace and prosperity that’s tied to democratic principles and free markets. This task is challenging, and its success depends on whether others believe that employing America’s unparalleled power not only promotes American goals but also serves their own.
Fortunately, Americans are more solidly behind the core principles of our national security policy than they have been in many decades. Polling suggests that support for the policies that make up our foreign policy framework will remain strong no matter who wins the White House. Still, there is much to do. To sustain the primacy of democracy and open markets, Washington must preserve and strengthen its military edge, including its capacity to bring force to bear at a time and place of our choosing. It must forge international regimes that imbed its values and interests in institutions to endure beyond the vicissitudes of American power. And it must engage with allies and rivals alike to lessen the risks of cultural and political tactics that can sap our leverage over time.