Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the Wilsonian School as an approach to foreign policy which argues that the United States should promote democracy abroad and an international system that is based on collective security. It emphasizes that the United States' intervention in the First World War reflected a genuine expression of these Wilsonian sentiments. The book demonstrates the current understandings of the conflicts that are based on strategic and economic factors fails to give a sufficient explanation of the events and that to fully comprehend the circumstances surrounding American actions includes the factors presented by the Wilsonian School. It revisits the conflicts and evaluates the strategic and economic factors that have traditionally been used to explain these conflicts. The book shows that these factors are a real consideration for the president in his decision to enter into conflict.