A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy From the Revolution to the Rise of China

Copeland’s valuable book is both a history of the key moments in American foreign trade policy and a theoretical study of what he terms “dynamic realism,” the middle ground between so-called offensive realism (aggressive policies in the interest of protecting the security of the United States) and defensive realism (the recognition that overly aggressive policies can be counterproductive). In his view, the generally understood drivers of U.S. history greatly undervalue the role that assuring access to global markets has played in U.S. foreign policy since before the American Revolution. In his telling, ideological and national security motivations and domestic political pressures (which he repeatedly diminishes) did not compel key decisions from the outbreak of the Revolution to the U.S. entry into World War I, as much as did the natural drive of any major power to maintain and expand its access to markets, resources, and investment abroad. The principal impediment for the United States in that quest now is China. He argues that U.S. policymakers should recognize that Chinese policies that might appear to be motivated by a desire for dominance may in fact be driven by insecurity and the fear of U.S. intentions.