Is there an emerging left-wing foreign policy in the United States?

Published date01 March 2020
Date01 March 2020
DOI10.1177/0020702020914008
AuthorAaron Ettinger
Subject MatterScholarly Essay
Scholarly Essay
Is there an emerging
left-wing foreign policy in
the United States?
Aaron Ettinger
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
Is there a left-wing foreign policy emerging in the United States? The rise of an ener-
gized and assertive left wing of the Democratic Party, and a receptive constituency
within the electorate, has opened space for new political possibilities at home. In the
foreign policy realm, leftist internationalism is making compelling arguments about new
directions. However, there are limitations to the possible realization of a left-wing
foreign policy in the US. While candidates like Sanders and Warren are distinctive in
a left-wing foreign policy worldview, the practical implications of their foreign policies
are consistent with post-Cold War practice. There are two important exceptions: in
trade policy and in their positions on the use of military force. Here they mark a sharp
break from the liberal internationalist mainstream. This paper outlines five broad prin-
ciples of left internationalism, assesses the foreign policy positions of leading
Democratic candidates for the 2020 nomination, and explores the long-term prospects
of left-wing foreign policy in the US after 2020.
Keywords
US foreign policy, Democratic Party, liberal internationalism, socialism, progressive
Corresponding author:
Aaron Ettinger, Carleton University, Department of Political Science, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa,
Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada.
Email: aaron.ettinger@carleton.ca
International Journal
2020, Vol. 75(1) 24–48
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702020914008
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Introduction
Beginning in 2016, the Democratic Party was pulled to the left by an active and
vocal leftist constituency.
1
But has this new leftward orientation inf‌luenced foreign
policy thinking? On the surface, this seems to be the case. The progressive inter-
nationalism of Elizabeth Warren and, to her left, the socialist internationalism of
Bernie Sanders are challenging the conventional liberal internationalism of its
leading proponent in the 2020 Democratic primaries, former vice president Joe
Biden. Though a latecomer to the left-wing resurgence in America, leftist interna-
tional thought is engaging with ideas that, hitherto, have been well outside the US
foreign policy mainstream. But is this ascendant left-wing foreign policy different
from previous Democratic positions, and will it last? The answers to these ques-
tions are less clear.
Media commentary has doubted the seriousness of the American left-wing’s
foreign policy, presuming that it either does not exist or is Trumpism in leftist
garb.
2
Many of those same commentaries speak to issues at the core of leftist
internationalism as well as some of the unreconciled divisions.
3
What they signal
is a rich, diverse, and overlooked intellectual current of progressive-leftist interna-
tional thinking in the US that goes back to the 19th century.
4
And yet, academic
scholarship has mostly ignored the left in its treatment of foreign policy traditions
in the US, preferring instead to dig into liberal-conservative or liberal-realist bina-
ries and stylized archetypes of foreign policy thinking.
5
An important exception are
studies of ideologies that have penetrated US foreign policy from the right.
6
1. David A. Graham, “How far have the Democrats moved to the left?” The Atlantic, 5 November
2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/democratic-voters-move-leftward-
range-issues/574834/ (accessed 2 December 2019); Elaine Kamarack and Alexander R. Podkul,
“The 2018 primaries project: What are the internal divisions within each party?” Brookings
Institute, 23 October 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-2018-primaries-project-what-
are-the-internal-divisions-within-each-party/ (accessed 2 December 2019).
2. Aziz Rana, “The left’s missing foreign policy,” nþ1, 28 March 2018, https://nplusonemag.com/
online-only/online-only/the-lefts-missing-foreign-policy/ (accessed 2 December 2019); Sarah Jones,
“Where is the left wing’s foreign policy?” The New Republic, 31 July 2018, https://newrepublic.com/
article/150317/left-wings-foreign-policy (accessed 2 December 2019); Max Boot, “The Democrats
need a new foreign policy – one that doesn’t sound like Trumpismof the left,” The Washington Post,
26 December 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/19/democrats-need-new-
foreign-policy-one-that-doesnt-sound-like-trumpism-left/ (accessed 2 December 2019).
3. Aziz Rana, “The return of left internationalism,” Jacobin, 6 February 2019, https://www.jacobin
mag.com/2019/02/left-foreign-policy-internationalism-security-solidarity (accessed 2 December
2019).
4. Michael Kazin, American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
2011).
5. Peter Hays Gries, The Politics of American Foreign Policy: How Ideology Divides Liberals and
Conservatives (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2014); Ole R. Holsti, Public Opinion and
American Foreign Policy (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004); Walter Russell Mead,
Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World (London: Routledge,
2002).
6. Jean-Francois Drolet and Michael Williams, “The view from MARS: US paleoconservatism and
ideological challenges to the liberal world order,” International Journal 74, no. 1 (2019): 15–31;
Jean-Franc¸ ois Drolet and Michael C. Williams, “Radical conservatism and global order:
International theory and the new right,” International Theory 10, no. 3 (2018): 285–313.
Ettinger 25

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