Isolationism
Definition
Isolationism is a foreign policy approach where a nation avoids alliances with other nations and generally stays out of international political affairs.
Analogy
Imagine you're at school and there are different groups of friends (countries). You decide not to join any group or participate in their drama, but rather focus on your own stuff—that's isolationism.
Related terms
Non-interventionism: A policy of not interfering in the affairs of other nations—like choosing not to take sides when two friend groups have a fight at school.
Monroe Doctrine: A U.S. policy which opposed European colonialism in the Americas while also avoiding involvement in European wars—it's like telling others not to bring their fights into your backyard, while also staying out of theirs.
Neutrality Acts: Laws passed by the U.S. aimed at keeping the country out of future wars—like making a rule for yourself that no matter what happens, you won't get involved in any schoolyard fights.
"Isolationism" appears in:
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Practice Questions (11)
- What did anti-imperialists argue about the U.S.'s long tradition of isolationism?
- Which foreign policy precedent set by the revolutionary generation mirrored a later trend of isolationism before World War II?
- Which act initiated the United States' policy of isolationism after World War I?
- Why did the United States pursue a policy of isolationism after World War I?
- What policy best reflects America's shift from isolationism to imperialism at the end of the 19th Century?
- How could America's role on the world stage look different if it hadn't retreated into isolationism after World War I?
- Which global event led to a significant shift in US foreign policy from isolationism towards interventionism during the interwar period?
- What was a key difference between the United States' policy of Isolationism after World War I and its Good Neighbor Policy towards Latin America in the 1930s?
- Which principle underpinned the US foreign policy of isolationism during the Interwar period?
- Which U.S law initiated the shift from isolationism to global interventionism in the post-WWII economy?
- What underlay America's shift from isolationism to interventionism in the 20th century?
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