When the U.S.A. Was Neutral

For 150 Years, America Didn’t Take Sides—But the Nation Still Fought Plenty of Wars

Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality—in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international law, and more. In this essay, neutrality studies scholar Pascal Lottaz writes about the unique American-style neutrality from George Washington to Pearl Harbor.

If you were born any time after 1960, the first (and perhaps only) country that will come to mind when you think of “neutrality” is Switzerland—that tiny alpine nation that has been following a policy of “perpetual neutrality” …

by Pascal Lottaz | July 22, 2024

The U.S.-China Rivalry Isn’t a New Cold War; It’s Bigger Than That

The Fact That the Two Countries Are Interdependent Makes Both War and Peaceful Cooperation More Possible

by Joe Mathews | February 12, 2021

The rivalry between China and the United States is not a new Cold War, but it involves profound competition along economic, technological, and economic lines that create dilemmas for other …

How National Boundaries Distort Our Understanding of the World

Today's Most Pressing Global Issues Can't Be Addressed Through the Prism of Borders

By Joshua Hagen | March 30, 2018

Every four years, in summer and in winter, the Olympics open with a choreographed ceremony dominated by national delegations wearing national uniforms parading behind their respective national flags. Each event …

America’s Decline Is Relative but Real—and Potentially Dangerous

The Rest of the World Is Catching Up, and the Nation's Cluelessness About Its Weaknesses Will Accelerate the Trend

By Manlio Graziano | March 9, 2018

Is the United States in decline? The debate on the subject lacks both content and context. To take the conversation about American decline away from arbitrary and subjective claims, we …

When Alaskan and Russian Native People Thawed the Cold War’s ‘Ice Curtain’

Citizen-Diplomats on Both Sides of the Bering Strait Eased U.S.-Soviet Relations—and Could Help Confront Climate Change

By David Ramseur | December 8, 2017

As the Russian city of Provideniya’s deteriorating concrete buildings came into view below, Darlene Pungowiyi Orr felt uneasy. So did the other 81 passengers landing in that isolated far-eastern Soviet …

Before Going to War in North Korea, Try Understanding the Place First

Armed Conflict Between the U.S. and Pyongyang Isn’t Inevitable—or Impossible

By Reed Johnson | October 25, 2017

With schoolyard taunts hurtling between Washington and Pyongyang, and fears of nuclear Armageddon escalating from Seoul to Tokyo to Los Angeles, the once-unthinkable idea of a military showdown between North …

international relations