No. 90 - 'Foreign policy in the American election battle'

Institute for Western Affairs' Bulletin (No. 90/2012): prof. Jadwiga Kiwerska - 'Foreign policy in the American election battle'

The fact that foreign policy has not been crucial in the American election battle for the White House has been an unwritten tradition for many years. And even if it happened to be important, it became more of a burden to the incumbent president running for a second term or to any other candidate from his camp. That is exactly what happened to President Woodrow Wilson, whose strong involvement in the international arena, including the participation of the Unites States in the WWI as well as the President’s unprecedented presence at the Paris Peace Conference, which constituted a violation of the “sacred rule” of isolationism, determined the result of the 1920 presidential elections. In consequence, that elections were won by a Republican candidate who stated  that the US should stay out of world problems, and especially European ones.