Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entanglement in military alliances and mutual defense pacts. In its purest form, isolationism opposes all commitments to foreign countries, including treaties and trade agreements. [1] In the political science lexicon, there is also the term of “non-interventionism”, which is sometimes improperly used to replace the concept of “isolationism”. [2] “Non-interventionism” is commonly understood as “a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries’ internal affairs”. [3] “Isolationism” should be interpreted more broadly as “a foreign policy grand strategy of military and political non-interference in international affairs and in the internal affairs of sovereign states, associated with trade and economic protectionism and cultural and religious isolation, as well as with the inability to be in permanent military alliances, with the preservation, however, some opportunities to participate in temporary military alliances that meet the current interests of the state and in permanent international organizations of a non-military nature”. [4]
This contrasts with philosophies such as colonialism, expansionism, and liberal internationalism.
Isolationism has been defined as:
A policy or doctrine of trying to isolate one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, and generally attempting to make one's economy entirely self-reliant; seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement, both diplomatically and economically, while remaining in a state of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities. [5]
Before 1999, Bhutan had banned television and the Internet in order to preserve its culture, environment, and identity. [6] Eventually, Jigme Singye Wangchuck lifted the ban on television and the Internet. His son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was elected Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan, which helped forge the Bhutanese democracy. Bhutan has subsequently undergone a transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy multi-party democracy. The development of Bhutanese democracy has been marked by the active encouragement and participation of the reigning Bhutanese monarchs since the 1950s, beginning with legal reforms, and culminating in the enactment of Bhutan's Constitution. [7]
Tourism in Bhutan was prohibited until 1974. Since then, the country has allowed foreigners to visit, but has tightly controlled tourism in an effort to preserve its natural and cultural heritage. As of 2022, [update] tourists must pay a $200 per day fee on top of other travel expenses such as meals and accommodation. Prior to 2022, visitors were not allowed to travel independently and had to be accompanied by a tour guide. [8] As of 2021, [update] Bhutan does not maintain formal foreign relations with any of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, notably including China, its neighbor to the north with which it has a historically tense relationship. [9]
From 1431 to 1863, the Kingdom of Cambodia enforced an isolationist policy. The policy prohibited foreign contact with most outside countries. When Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came to power on 17 April 1975 and established Democratic Kampuchea, the urban population of every city, including Phnom Penh, was relocated to the countryside. This was ordered by the Communist Party of Kampuchea and the secret police Santebal, and they then established an infamous prison gulag inside the torture chamber called Tuol Sleng (S-21). Cambodia proceeded to implement the Year Zero policy, hastening isolation from the rest of the world. Ultimately, the authority of the Khmer Rouge and its isolationist policy would collapse in 1978 when the Vietnamese invaded the country and then overthrew Pol Pot on 7 January 1979.
After Zheng He's voyages in the 15th century, the foreign policy of the Ming dynasty in China became increasingly isolationist. The Hongwu Emperor was not the first to propose the policy to ban all maritime shipping in 1390. [10] The Qing dynasty that came after the Ming dynasty often continued the Ming dynasty's isolationist policies. Wokou, which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China, Japan, and Korea, and were one of the key primary concerns, although the maritime ban was not without some control.
In the winter of 1757, the Qianlong Emperor declared that—effective the next year—Guangzhou was to be the only Chinese port permitted to foreign traders, beginning the Canton System. [11]
Since the division of the territory following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China is divided into two regimes with the People's Republic of China solidified control on mainland China while the existing Republic of China was confined to the island of Taiwan as both governments lay claim to each other's sovereignty. While the PRC is recognized by the United Nations, European Union, and the majority of the world's states, the ROC remains diplomatically isolated although 15 states recognize it as "China" with some countries maintaining unofficial diplomatic relations through trade offices. [12] [13]
From 1641 to 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan enforced a policy called kaikin. The policy prohibited foreign contact with most outside countries. The commonly held idea that Japan was entirely closed, however, is misleading. In fact, Japan maintained limited-scale trade and diplomatic relations with China, Korea, and the Ryukyu Islands, as well as the Dutch Republic as the only Western trading partner of Japan for much of the period. [14] [15]
The culture of Japan developed with limited influence from the outside world and had one of the longest stretches of peace in history. During this period, Japan developed thriving cities, castle towns, increasing commodification of agriculture and domestic trade, [16] wage labor, increasing literacy and concomitant print culture, [17] laying the groundwork for modernization even as the shogunate itself grew weak. [18]
In 1863, Emperor Gojong took the throne of the Joseon Dynasty when he was a child. His father, Regent Heungseon Daewongun, ruled for him until Gojong reached adulthood. During the mid-1860s he was the main proponent of isolationism and the principal instrument of the persecution of both native and foreign Catholics.
Following the division of the peninsula after independence from Japan at the end of World War II, Kim Il Sung inaugurated an isolationist nationalist regime in the North, which would continued by his son and grandson following his death in 1994. [19]
In 1814, three years after it gained its independence on May 14, 1811, Paraguay was taken over by the dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. During his rule which lasted from 1814 until his death in 1840, he closed Paraguay's borders and prohibited trade or any relationship between Paraguay and the outside world. The Spanish settlers who had arrived in Paraguay just before it gained its independence were required to marry old colonists or the native Guaraní in order to create a single Paraguayan people.
Francia had a particular dislike of foreigners, and any foreigners who attempted to enter the country were not allowed to leave for an indefinite period of time. An independent character, he hated European influences and the Catholic Church and in order to try to keep foreigners at bay, he turned church courtyards into artillery parks and turned confession boxes into border sentry posts. [19]
Some scholars, such as Robert J. Art, believe that the United States had an isolationist history, but most other scholars dispute that claim by describing the United States as following a strategy of unilateralism or non-interventionism rather than a strategy of isolationism. [20] [21] Robert Art makes his argument in A Grand Strategy for America (2003). [20] Books that have made the argument that the United States followed unilaterism instead of isolationism include Walter A. McDougall's Promised Land, Crusader State (1997), John Lewis Gaddis's Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (2004), and Bradley F. Podliska's Acting Alone (2010). [22] Both sides claim policy prescriptions from George Washington's Farewell Address as evidence for their argument. [20] [21] Bear F. Braumoeller argues that even the best case for isolationism, the United States in the interwar period, has been widely misunderstood and that Americans proved willing to fight as soon as they believed a genuine threat existed. [23] Warren F. Kuehl and Gary B. Ostrower argue:
Events during and after the Revolution related to the treaty of alliance with France, as well as difficulties arising over the neutrality policy pursued during the French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars, encouraged another perspective. A desire for separateness and unilateral freedom of action merged with national pride and a sense of continental safety to foster the policy of isolation. Although the United States maintained diplomatic relations and economic contacts abroad, it sought to restrict these as narrowly as possible in order to retain its independence. The Department of State continually rejected proposals for joint cooperation, a policy made explicit in the Monroe Doctrine's emphasis on unilateral action. Not until 1863 did an American delegate attend an international conference. [24]
Isolationism has been criticized for the lack of aiding nations with major troubles. One notable example is that of American isolationism, which Benjamin Schwartz described as a "tragedy" inspired by Puritanism. [25]
Some modern American conservative commentators assert that labeling others as isolationist is used against individuals in a pejorative manner. [26] [27]
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity, was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku) by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan. The treaty precipitated the signing of similar treaties establishing diplomatic relations with other Western powers.
The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the US Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following the US joining World War I, and they sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo shogunate, was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
Sonnō jōi was a yojijukugo phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sought to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and restore the power of the Emperor of Japan.
The Black Ships were the names given to both Portuguese merchant ships and American warships arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries respectively.
The term hermit kingdom is an epithet used to refer to any country, organization or society that willfully isolate itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is commonly cited as a prominent example of a hermit kingdom in the present day.
The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries – most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea – and Western countries – most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the United States and Russia – during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They were often signed following a military defeat suffered by the former party, or amid military threats made by the latter. Their terms specified obligations to be borne almost exclusively by the former party: provisions included the cession of territory, the payment of reparations, the opening of treaty ports, the relinquishment of the right to control tariffs and imports, and the granting of extraterritoriality to foreign citizens.
The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the period 1815–1914 as Britain's Imperial Century. The United States' influence grew throughout the 20th century, but became especially dominant after the end of World War II, when only two superpowers remained; the United States and the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States remained the world's only superpower, and became the hegemon, or what some have termed a hyperpower.
United States non-interventionism primarily refers to the foreign policy that was eventually applied by the United States between the late 18th century and the first half of the 20th century whereby it sought to avoid alliances with other nations in order to prevent itself from being drawn into wars that were not related to the direct territorial self-defense of the United States. Neutrality and non-interventionism found support among elite and popular opinion in the United States, which varied depending on the international context and the country's interests. At times, the degree and nature of this policy was better known as isolationism, such as the interwar period, while some consider the term isolationism to be a pejorative used to discredit non-interventionist policy.
Sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period, relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all foreign nationals were banned from entering Japan, while common Japanese people were kept from leaving the country. The policy was enacted by the shogunate government (bakufu) under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633 to 1639. The term sakoku originates from the manuscript work Sakoku-ron (鎖國論) written by Japanese astronomer and translator Shizuki Tadao in 1801. Shizuki invented the word while translating the works of the 17th-century German traveller Engelbert Kaempfer namely, his book, 'the history of Japan', posthumously released in 1727.
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 was made between representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Kingdom of Joseon in 1876. Negotiations were concluded on February 26, 1876.
History of foreign relations of China covers diplomatic, military, political and economic relations in History of China from 1800 to the modern era. For the earlier period see Foreign relations of imperial China, and for the current foreign relations of China see Foreign relations of China.
The Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty was the first treaty between Great Britain and Japan, then under the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. Signed on October 14, 1854, it paralleled the Convention of Kanagawa, a similar agreement between Japan and the United States six months earlier which effectively ended Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku). As a result of the treaty, the ports of Nagasaki and Hakodate were opened to British vessels, and Britain was granted most favored nation status with other western powers.
Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as “a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries’ internal affairs”. This is based on the grounds that a state should not interfere in the internal politics of another state as well as the principles of state sovereignty and self-determination. A similar phrase is "strategic independence".
Bhutan-China relations refer to the international relationship between the Kingdom of Bhutan and the People's Republic of China. As of present, Bhutan and China do not share an official diplomatic relationship with one another.
The Meiji Restoration, referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration, and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor of Japan. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath.
The Bhutan–China border is the international boundary between Bhutan and China, running for 477 km (296 mi) through the Himalayas between the two tripoints with India.
Justus Drew Doenecke is an American historian, writer, and professor. His 2000 book, Storm on the Horizon: the Challenge to American Intervention, 1939-1941, received the Herbert Hoover Book Award from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Doenecke is Professor Emeritus at New College of Florida.
The foreign policy of the United States was controlled personally by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his first and second and third and fourth terms as the president of the United States from 1933 to 1945. He depended heavily on Henry Morgenthau Jr., Sumner Welles, and Harry Hopkins. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Cordell Hull handled routine matters. Roosevelt was an internationalist, while powerful members of Congress favored more isolationist solutions in order to keep the U.S. out of European wars. There was considerable tension before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The attack converted the isolationists or made them irrelevant. The US began aid to the Soviet Union after Germany invaded it in June 1941. After the US declared war in December 1941, key decisions were made at the highest level by Roosevelt, Britain's Winston Churchill and the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin, along with their top aides. After 1938 Washington's policy was to help China in its war against Japan, including cutting off money and oil to Japan. While isolationism was powerful regarding Europe, American public and elite opinion strongly opposed Japan.
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