Harvard professor Stephen Walt urges shift in U.S. foreign policy
When the Cold War ended, the U.S. stood as the world’s pre-eminent power and looked forward to a new age of peace and prosperity. But a foreign policy overly focused on spreading American values dashed that promise, argues Stephen M. Walt in his new book, “The Hell of Good Intentions.” Walt, the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School, says that failures linked to a strategy of “liberal hegemony” championed by Washington’s foreign policy elite have undermined the goal of advancing ideals like democracy and free markets and diminished the nation’s power and influence. The Gazette spoke to Walt about his critique of U.S. foreign policy and his belief that the remedy lies in a more restrained approach. Q&A Stephen M. Walt GAZETTE: How do you define “liberal hegemony” and why has it been such a destructive foreign policy approach for the United States? WALT: Liberal hegemony refers to a strategy...