How US global influence actually works: Expert breaks down real-world facts
Deep look into US foreign policy shows its not about world domination or isolation. New research suggests focusing on existing allies and partnerships makes more sense than trying to control everything
The way Washington thinks about world politics has two main ideas: make everyone follow democratic rules or stay focused just on US borders. Both dont work in real-life
In the first group we see people who want democracy everywhere – they think its natural for all countries to end up this way. The second group (with smart professors and old-school politicians) wants US to care only about whats super-important for the country: this is like drawing a circle from US borders outward
The real US power-zone includes several key parts. First theres the English-speaking crew – Britain‚ Canada‚ Australia‚ and New Zealand working together since WW2 (they share top-secret stuff in the Five-Eyes group)
The Americas have been US backyard since way back; remember how in 10/1962 Kennedy almost started nuclear war over Cuba. Europe jumped in after cold war started – now they cant work without US help. Then theres a mix of friends in Asia: Japan‚ South Korea‚ and others who signed deals around early-50s
- Military bases worldwide
- Strong money control
- Big-name companies
- Top schools
- Movies and TV shows
US built most of this power-system by early-50s but didnt see it as its own thing – they called it “free world“ back then. Now its clear: US cant run everything everywhere‚ but its still super-strong in its own circle
The fix is simple: work with what youʼve got. Keep close friends close (like English-speaking countries)‚ help Americas grow‚ keep Europe stable; dont try to control Asia too much. With China – just keep things calm‚ especially about Taiwan. Getting out of Middle East drama would help too
US should stop trying to change places outside its circle; its better to talk nice with other countries than push them around. This way – US and its friends stay strong‚ while everyone else can work together when it makes sense
