Return to the Monroe Doctrine

https://www.civitasinstitute.org/research/return-to-the-monroe-doctrine

At Civitas, Robert Delahunty and I make the case for American expansion into Greenland in the service of restoring the Monroe Doctrine. We argue that controlling the security of the Western Hemisphere is a basic pillar of American national security strategy.

"Even before assuming office, Donald Trump has set American diplomatic relations afire with seemingly outlandish claims to new territory. He has floated a purchase of Greenland, the return of the Panama Canal, and a mention of Canada as the 51st state. Critics are not sure whether to take Trump literally, seriously, or neither. They are apt to accuse Trump (inconsistently) of being either an isolationist or an imperialist. The truth is that he is neither. Rather, Trump seems instinctively to be calling for a return to the grand strategic principles that have guided US foreign policy for most of the past two centuries. In particular, he seems to be calling for the renewal of the classic Monroe Doctrine in some form – that fundamental American policy, announced by President James Monroe in 1823, that structured our relations with our hemispheric neighbors throughout most of the 19th century and beyond. Whether or not Trump himself consciously wishes to revitalize these principles, the effect of his policies may be to do exactly that."