A Man Ahead of His Time?
| Published date | 01 December 2005 |
| Author | Erez Manela |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000413 |
| Date | 01 December 2005 |
| Subject Matter | The Lessons of History |
Erez Manela
A man ahead of
his time?
Wilsonian globalism and the doctrine of preemption
| International Journal | Autumn 2005 | 1115 |
THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
In recent years, Woodrow Wilson has returned to feature prominently in the
public discourse on the role of the United States in the world. For students of
US foreign relations, this is hardly a surprising development. Wilson was
responsible for articulating a vision of the US role in the world—usually
described as “liberal internationalism”—that has remained, despite well-
known flaws and scores of critics over the years, dominant in shaping
American rhetoric and self-image, if not always policies, vis-à-vis the rest of
the world. Competing foreign policy postures, such as isolationism or
“national interest” realism, have surely been influential in particular eras
and contexts. But they have failed to match the ideological and popular
appeal of liberal internationalism, which has echoed so compellingly the
most basic ideas many Americans hold about who they are, what their coun-
try is about, and what it should stand for in the world. And not only
Americans. Just now it is hard to imagine, but should not be forgotten, that
for much of history since the American Revolution the example of the
United States and its ideals have served as inspiration to countless move-
ments—in Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere—that
sought to throw off foreign rule. Perhaps the single most striking example of
Erez Manela is assistant professor of history at Harvard University. He is
the author of The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International
Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism, due next year from Oxford University Press.
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