Why American Leadership Still Matters JOSEPH LIEBERMAN AND JON KYL DECEMBER 2015 AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE Why American Leadership Still Matters Report of the American Internationalism Project JOSEPH LIEBERMAN AND JON KYL DECEMBER 2015 AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE © 2015 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. All rights reserved. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational organization and does not take institutional positions on any issues. The views expressed here are those of the author(s). Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Preface ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5 American Leadership and Security at Home and Abroad .............................................................................. 9 American Leadership and Prosperity at Home and Abroad ........................................................................ 14 American Leadership and Principles of Freedom at Home and Abroad ...................................................... 23 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Appendix: Dispelling Common Myths and Answering Difficult Questions ............................................... 31 Notes ........................................................................................................................................................... 41 Contributors ................................................................................................................................................ 47 Project Leadership Biographies .................................................................................................................... 49 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 55 iii Executive Summary strong, bipartisan commitment to global leader- d’être for active US engagement abroad. Although A ship has informed America’s foreign policy since different circumstances require different approaches, we emerged from World War II. Today, however, the active global military leadership is always a prerequi- global architecture the United States has conceived, site to success. In the security realm, not only does US built, and maintained is in jeopardy. No one nation engagement—including the forward deployment of rivals the US on paper. But through both traditional US troops—deter aggression, but in the event of con- and nontraditional means, nation-states and nonstate flict, it also enables the US to meet threats far from its actors alike are presenting new challenges to interna- shores quickly and in time to prevent losses that would tional security that, if not addressed, will threaten the be costly to regain. America’s allies across the globe security, prosperity, and freedom of the United States also help identify and address challenges at their root, and its allies. provide crucial support during periods of conflict, At the same time, some Americans are questioning and contribute to the general stability of the interna- both our capacity to lead on the world stage and the tional system. Committed, democratic partners allow wisdom of doing so. US engagement abroad, at its core, the US to achieve its security goals for mutual benefit; has always been about helping the American people, the building of such partnerships should be a priority, protecting US interests, and advancing US values. But therefore, of US foreign policy. ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with an US engagement abroad, however, constitutes far uneven economic recovery, have led some at home to more than just military action. Military force is but one reassess the costs, effectiveness, and benefits of Ameri- tool of international engagement and should never be can global leadership. the first option. Too often, we tend to overlook Ameri- In light of both the growing external challenges to, ca’s crucial hand in waging peace, dampening rivalries, and the internal skepticism of, American global leader- and helping to resolve conflict. We similarly tend to ship, we set out in 2014 to determine whether the ben- underappreciate the importance of some of the bedrock efits of robust internationalism still outweigh the costs. tools of international engagement including American We incorporated a diverse range of people from dif- diplomacy, foreign assistance, economic assistance, ferent parties, ideologies, and generations to develop a people-to-people programs, and public-private part- new consensus on America’s role in the world. nerships. These tools all help to ensure that military This report reflects the fundamental consensus of force remains an option of last resort. our project’s members that American global leadership The vibrant international economic system rep- is just as crucial to the security, prosperity, and freedom resents one such historic, yet often overlooked, achieve- of the American people today as it was 70 years ago. US ment that strong US global leadership has made foreign policies must adapt to keep pace with the twist- possible. Recognizing the growing link between the ing dynamics of an ever-changing world but should be American domestic economy and foreign markets, US rooted in and united by a continued commitment to policymakers saw an opportunity after World War II vigorous international engagement. to increase the welfare of those at home and abroad The security of the United States and its peo- through the formalization of a rules-based, nondiscrim- ple is our first responsibility and serves as the raison inatory international economic system. America led the 1 WHY AMERICAN LEADERSHIP STILL MATTERS effort to establish key economic institutions like the reinforcing. The genius of America’s approach is that, International Monetary Fund and the organizations no matter how one rearranges the pillars of American that would evolve into the World Bank and the World global leadership, the end result is positive. Trade Organization. In doing so, we helped create a What would the world look like without American global economic order that has enabled many hundreds global leadership? It is difficult to say, partly because of millions—in the US and abroad—to climb the lad- we take so many of its benefits for granted and its div- der of opportunity. idends are dispersed. But global politics abhors a vac- Undeniably, some countries now seek to exploit this uum, and American retrenchment is sure to create one. open and increasingly integrated economic system. There is simply no guarantee that whoever might fill Forced localization policies, intellectual property theft, our space would have the capacity, the inclination, or and economic and cyber espionage are but a few exam- will to keep the world safe, markets open, and people ples of foreign activities that undermine US competi- free. If anything, an increasingly brazen China, revan- tiveness. Alternative economic models in which growth chist Russia, volatile North Korea, and ruthless Islamic is not predicated on economic liberalization are gaining State collectively underscore the need for more, not traction in places like Africa. Only dynamic US lead- less, American leadership abroad. ership in the international economic realm can ensure We believe that the ideas contained in the pages that that the global trading system remains an uncorrupted follow offer a coherent, digestible and refreshing way and accessible engine of wealth for the people of the to think and talk about American global leadership in United States and the rest of the world. the modern era. We must not wait for events to remake The disparate aspects of American global leadership the case for American global leadership. We must make are, in fact, intimately connected and often mutually that case ourselves today. 2 Preface n the winter of 2012, the two of us were coming to that they support strong American leadership in the Ithe end of our years of service in the United States world. As you will see from the list of people who have Senate. We had often worked together across party lines participated in the AIP on the Steering Committee and on foreign policy and national security. One day that our three working groups, we were able to achieve that winter, we sat down to reflect on our shared apprehen- goal beyond our hopes and far beyond the norms and sion about the rise of isolationism in our major politi- expectations of our divided politics today. In fact, one cal parties and among the American people. We agreed of the most significant accomplishments of the AIP that history teaches that previous periods of American may be the consensus reached by such a diverse group. isolationism had cost us dearly. Perhaps when we were Second, we did not want the AIP simply to end with out of elective office we could find a way to confront a report announced at a press conference in Washing- the new isolationism and challenge the drift away from ton