Overview
Churchill, Truman, Stalin shake hands in a show of alliance
Foreign policy is the accepted course of action adopted by a nation about negotiating and intervening with other countries. Since the outbreak of World War I, US foreign policy has evolved from a pure isolationist state to a role as the global police force. The evolution of the United States' policy was extensively dramatic due to changes in the world environment in the last century. Isolationism was adopted in order to ensure that America was not involved in any foreign conflict. This policy was abandoned at the start of World War II in order to halt the territorial growth of Japan in the Pacific. After World War II had ended, a new policy under the Truman Doctrine was conceived called containment. As the Soviet Union continued to spread communism, the US was forced to use this policy to contain the growth of the Soviet Union. This sparked the start of the Cold War and the emergence of one of the United States' longest conflicts and foreign policies. The United States' victory in the Cold War led to the creation of the world's policeman, establishing a policy of interventionism, which is used still today. The U.S.'s presence in foreign affairs is especially felt as tensions rise in the Middle East and the U.S. is a major reason why there has not been a large outbreak of war.