As I’ve noted many times before, Barack Obama believed in the Pax Americana, but he wanted it on the cheap. He would only support American military interventions if he had a plausible path to success and a reasonable exit strategy, and if all other means had been tried and failed. His critics, and some of his friends, called this “leading from behind.”
Bernie Sanders takes Obama’s reluctance several steps further; he rejects the entire notion of the Pax Americana. If he is elected, he will cut the defense budget significantly, because he has no interest in making America the policeman of the world. He will rely on diplomatic efforts and, if absolutely necessary, economic sanctions to enforce international norms. In other words, we will operate less like America, and more like the EU.
Can this work? Will terrorists and international thugs be deterred by diplomacy and moral force alone? Will Putin and Xi feel emboldened to take greater risks, knowing that nothing stands in their way but sanctions and speeches?
As you can tell, I have my doubts.