Five Not-So-Easy Pieces: The Debates on American Foreign Policy

American foreign policy discussion today is not so much a single debate as debates. At least five principal debates are taking place—or at least should be. How they are resolved will go a long way toward determining both what takes the place of containment as a means of organizing international relations and what the role of the United States in the post-Cold War world will be.

The five essential sets of questions involve the proper priorities for foreign policy; the extent to which the United States should enlist others in...