Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, public opinion regarding America’s role in the world is undergoing a significant evolution, according to polls and commentary highlighted by The Christian Science Monitor. While a majority of Americans still prefer engaging with the international community rather than withdrawing, citizens are far less assured of the country’s global role and remain deeply divided over what that role should look like.
Shifting Public Opinion and Partisan Divides on the Global Stage
However, according to Bob Shapiro, a professor of political science and international public affairs at Columbia University, foreign policy has increasingly been viewed through strong partisan terms. Professor Shapiro notes that 2006 served as a turning point, occurring during the fifth year of the war in Afghanistan and heading into the third year of the war in Iraq.
In January of that year, President George W. Bush declared in his State of the Union address that The United States will not retreat from the world.
Later in 2006, Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress during the midterms in a blue wave, and the seeds of a foreign policy revolt took root in the Republican Party base. A decade later, an isolationist Donald Trump called the Iraq war a big, fat mistake
on his way to winning both his party’s nomination and the White House.
Today, these domestic political divides continue to influence global issues ranging from international trade and foreign aid to ongoing conflicts. Supporters of Republican administrations have praised decisive actions such as the military operation to capture Venezuela’s president for projecting strength, while criticizing the policies of former Democratic President Joe Biden as weak and emboldening to adversaries.
Strategic Competition and the Debate Over Spheres of Influence
Beyond public opinion, U.S. foreign policy at the geopolitical level has long been driven by competition among the world’s major powers.
Rather than exclusively striving to preserve a U.S.-led international order through sustained competition, some analysts suggest Washington could become increasingly willing to negotiate an informal division of geopolitical space among the United States, China, and Russia. Proponents argue that if major powers recognize one another’s core security interests and avoid direct confrontation within respective spheres, it could reduce the risk of catastrophic great-power conflict.
However, this strategy carries a potential contradiction. Seeking accommodation with rivals risks weakening the alliances and partnerships that have historically served as primary sources of American power since World War II. Unlike China and Russia, whose alliance networks do not match the scale and depth of Washington’s, the United States has relied on NATO, security partnerships in the Middle East, Indo-Pacific alliances, and close economic relationships to multiply its global influence.
Signs of Strain in Traditional Partnerships
As debates over foreign engagement continue, traditional U.S. partners are increasingly seeking greater diplomatic and economic room for maneuver.
If partners begin to question the reliability of U.S. commitments, they may increasingly seek alternative relationships and arrangements. Consequently, Washington could find itself negotiating with Beijing and Moscow from a diminished strategic position—not because the domestic economy or military has weakened, but because one of the principal multipliers of American power has eroded.
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