Advancing the Dialogue on Internationalism

Over the past 70 years, U.S. leadership in shaping the norms, rules, and institutions of an increasingly globalized world has helped channel forces of change in the direction of progress. Overall, Americans are healthier, wealthier, better educated, and more secure than any previous generation in no small measure because of the open, rules-based, interconnected world we helped build.

But the pace and scope of change also exposed new vulnerabilities, as the speed of technological progress, the advance of automation, the unbridled flow of information, the erosion of borders, the scale of global connectivity fed a growing sense of chaos, confusion, and doubt. Rising income inequality deferred the dreams of many and dimmed hopes for future generations. Too many of our fellow citizens got left behind or felt left out of the benefits that flow from global engagement. The resulting crisis of legitimacy is eroding support for American internationalism.

Populism and nationalism may slow the tide of globalism, but they cannot stop it. As new disruptive forces loom, we have to get ahead of the curve – lessening the burdens and seizing the opportunities of a changing world. As Vice President Biden has said, “In a globalized world, there is no bright line between foreign and domestic policy.  What happens at home impacts on our capacity to have the support of the population to remain engaged in the world.”