Isolationism

A policy of political, economic, and cultural seclusion in international affairs. In essence, isolationism is a country's attempt to exclude, or at least minimize, political, economic, military, and cultural interactions with other nations. A country's ability to successfully maintain this kind of comprehensive isolation is based on its strength, the character of its neighbors, its ability to sustain itself with internal resources, and its geography. A country with an efficient military, a solid and internally oriented economic base, a small number of peaceable neighbors, and mountain or sea borders is in a good position to sustain isolationist policies because it is self-sufficient and safe from invasion. If any of these conditions do not hold, isolationism is much more difficult to execute.

Isolationism has a long-standing history in the United States. There are several potential reasons why this is the case. The geographic position of the United States, flanked on both coasts by vast oceans, makes it in some sense an island. Some observers assert that Americans simply do not feel tied to other countries because their geographical distance from the rest of the world creates a mental distance or an inward-looking mentality. They do not perceive their political or economic linkages with other nations or may not have much interest in them. Other theories emphasize the nation's go-it-alone spirit, or its unwillingness to participate in world affairs unless national security or great moral causes are at stake. This sense of isolationism was shaken when the United States became one of two superpowers at the close of World War II, and it has continued to diminish since.

Political Isolationism

Political isolationism often stems from a desire to avoid being drawn into others' conflicts. It is frequently a means of protecting a country's citizens from death in wars that are not their own. It implies not only not taking sides in third-party wars, but also not engaging in peacekeeping or peace-enforcement operations. In some countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden, isolationism may be an expression of a policy of neutrality. Isolationism is often exercised as a safer option—protecting countries from the dangers of conflict, arms races, and security compromises. Frequently, it is a country's overt demonstration of its sovereign status.

Isolationism may also arise—intentionally or otherwise—from rogue-nation status in the international community. Modern North Korea is deliberately abstaining from interaction with large parts of the international community; in turn, many world nations refuse to maintain normal relations with it. As a result, North Korea faces diplomatic isolation, lack of recognition from the international community, extremely reduced trade, and possible ideological stagnation.

In the United States, political isolationism has been a part of the political spectrum since the country's beginning. George Washington's warning in his farewell address to avoid foreign entanglements has substantially shaped U.S. foreign policy in the two centuries that followed. Although the Monroe and Truman doctrines asserted the right of the United States to intervene, the country has tended to revert to isolated status for long periods. Domestic assertions of neutrality and isolation, for example, kept the United States out of World War I until 1917 and [Page 387]helped keep the country out of World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

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