ABSTRACT
On the one hand, the foreign policy of the USA is like that of all nations: it has been a mixture of self-interest and an attempt to act according to commonly held ideals. On the other hand, a factor that makes America’s (and all nations’) foreign policy distinctive is the size and strength of each relative to other nations at critical times in its history. In the beginning of its history the USA, then a weak and inconsequential actor on the world stage, emphasized what the American political scientist Joseph S. Nye terms ‘soft power’ (attracting support by example, ideals and diplomacy) to the near exclusion of other means of handling international affairs. Today, the nation is the world’s only superpower, and, in the view of some commentators, it too seldom uses soft power, especially since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and relies too frequently or hastily instead on ‘hard power’ (achieving support and goals through economic sanctions and military threats or force).
