Foreign policy is the set of strategies that a country adopts to safeguard its national interests and advance its goals in international affairs. It involves negotiating with allies, dealing with intransigent adversaries, concluding complex economic agreements, and fostering a global environment of cooperation and stability. Foreign policy is dynamic and can be adapted to changing circumstances and conditions.
The challenges that we face abroad — climate change that threatens the security of billions; humanitarian crises that can be exploited by extremists for their own ends; autocrats who seek to expand their power through territorial annexation and political control of other nations — affect people around the globe, including millions of Americans at home. Yet, in many cases, the solutions to these problems will require cooperation with partners who share our values, not confrontation with those that do not.
With the world’s most powerful military and largest economy, the United States has unique influence in international affairs — and an outsized responsibility to act as arbiter of peace, guarantor of security and force for stability. As such, the country’s leaders and diplomats must constantly work to balance competing demands in order to make good policy.
The foreign policies that we employ should be guided by principles of a rules-based international system and reflect the fundamental values of our nation. They should be based on the notions of freedom, democracy, human rights and economic opportunity. They should be driven by the belief that our interests and values are shared by the vast majority of people across the globe.