From the initial brewing to the formal formation, the U.S. global strategy has gone through a development process from scratch, from fragmentation to systematic integrity, and from military strategy to global strategy. It can be roughly divided into brewing, preliminary formation, formal formation and the post-Cold War period.

four stages.

The basis for this stage division is the result of the changes in the balance of international strategic forces. It also reflects the historical process of the United States from domestic expansion to overseas expansion, and from overseas expansion to global expansion, driven by the domestic political and economic situation.

This article uses historical analysis to deeply explore the formation and evolution of U.S. global strategy, and comparatively studies the trajectory of U.S. global strategy from the "Cold War type" to the "post-Cold War type" after the Cold War.

Global strategy refers to the strategy for major countries to mobilize and use political, economic, military, diplomatic and other means to participate in international struggles, safeguard and enhance their own interests, and achieve the country's fundamental political goals.

In a certain sense, only global powers can form a global strategy.

The U.S. global strategy can be roughly divided into four stages: brewing (1783 to 1898), initial formation (1898 to 1945), formal formation (1945 to 1990), and the late Cold War (from the end of the Cold War to the present).

1. The Origin and Preliminary Formation of the United States’ Global Strategy The United States is a latecomer capitalist country and started very late among Western countries in strategic research.

As it borders two oceans to the east and west and weak countries to the north and south, the United States has never encountered a serious threat to its security from its independence to the end of the 19th century, nor has it ever been in an urgent need to fight overseas.

The United States has long pursued isolationism, maintained a "detached status" and did not get involved in disputes in the Old Continent of Europe; while developing commercial relations, the United States tried its best to avoid political ties with foreign countries and avoid entering into permanent alliances with any foreign countries in order to safeguard the United States.

own independence, territorial integrity and freedom of choice.

Therefore, from the victory of the War of Independence in 1783 to the end of the 19th century, the policy pursued by the United States was actually a grand strategy, namely: "Western Hemisphere Defense". Its fundamental goal was to prevent the Eastern Hemisphere from invading the Western Hemisphere again and gain control of North America.

dominance and hegemony over the Western Hemisphere.

At the turn of the 19th century and the 20th century, American capitalism developed into the imperialist stage, and its global strategy also entered the initial stage of formation.

Driven by commercial interests, the United States began to turn its attention to the outside world and decided to expand its influence on a larger international stage.

The development of the situation has promoted the formation of "interventionism with specific goals" in the United States, which has shifted from mainland expansion to overseas expansion.

Peter Trubowitz once pointed out: "The United States created a continental empire in the 19th century, and then set its sights on more distant borders."

The initial motivations and basis for the formation of the U.S. global strategy are: First, the rapid growth of U.S. economic strength has laid a material foundation for the implementation of overseas expansion policies.

The victory of the northern industrial bourgeoisie in the Civil War cleared the way for the development of capitalism in the United States.

By the 1890s, the gross industrial production of the United States surpassed that of the United Kingdom and ranked first in the world, close to the sum of the three major powers of Britain, France, and Germany.

The strong economic strength provided material guarantee for the United States' request to redivide the world. At this time, the United States' territory expanded westward to the Pacific coast.

At the same time, due to the imbalance of economic and political development, countries such as Germany, Japan and Russia have risen on the world stage, and Britain has begun to decline. It has become inevitable to redivide the world and divide the sphere of influence according to the new balance of power.

Second, the United States has a theoretical basis for overseas expansion.

While the balance of power among the great powers is changing and international competition is intensifying, two major military groups are forming in Europe, ready to use force to break the original balance of power.

Against this background, public opinion toward establishing a new international order gradually emerged in the United States.

In 1896, Brooks Adams published the book "Civilization and the Law of Decline", which demonstrated the rationality and inevitability of the United States' transition from isolationism to internationalism, and demanded that the United States abandon isolationism, quickly enter the international stage, defeat its main competitors, and establish a free country.

A new international order led by the United States.

After studying the history of the world's oceans, especially Britain's global expansion, Mahan, a young naval officer and historian, published the book "The Influence of Sea Power on History: 1660-1783" in 1890, clearly proposing the famous "sea power".

Theory of power”.

Mahan also wrote a series of papers using the theory of sea power to explain the blueprint of the new international order.

He believes that if a country wants to play an important role in world affairs, it must master sea power; controlling the sea is the military factor of sea power, and using the sea is the economic factor of sea power; the United States must establish a strong power in Asia and the Pacific.

navy to achieve its own strategic goals.

Adams and Mahan demonstrated the future new international order and the status of the United States from different angles. They represented the national interests of the United States and became the main theme of public opinion. They influenced many American politicians and diplomats, especially the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

, Theodore Roosevelt, who later became president, had a greater impact.

Therefore, the "sea power theory" adapts to the political needs of the United States in its desire to re-divide the world, and is an important sign of a turning point in the United States' foreign strategy.

Third, the US military strategy has begun to take shape.

The Spanish-American War was the most well-prepared war after the American Revolutionary War. "Being prepared" is considered to be the most important feature of the military strategy adopted in this war.