The Study On How U. S. Nationalism Influences The U. S. Contemporary Foreign Policy

American nationalism is an important factor which can not neglected in shaping and driving U.S. foreign policy. People pay little attention to it in the study of U.S. foreign policy, however, to say nothing of its implications on the evolution of contemporary world configuration. This dissertation aims at discussing how U.S. nationalism has affected contemporary U.S. foreign policy on the foundation of existing literatures. U. S. nationalism can be simply defined state nationalism with American national interest and American Creed as the core. The state nationalism is one identical to national interest represented by the state form, i.e., the international exhibition of nationalism. From the perspective of solving pertinent problem, this paper will explain how U.S. nationalism influences contemporary U.S. foreign policy in detail. Concretely, it needs to expound two questions. First, what the distinctiveness of American nationalism is. Secondly, how this particularity has affected contemporary U.S. foreign policy and so on. The former discusses the particularity of U. S. nationalism with the consciousness of God elect as the core concept which makes U. S. nationalism distinct. As the people defined by political idea, why Americans are the Cod elect lies not in the American special race, but in the American rational spirit such as democracy, liberty and looking-forward. More importantly, the spread of American rational spirit has universal meaning. So, Americans are the fated people elected by God to spread those ideas. In the sense, the perspective innovation is this dissertation's major creation. It is U. S. nationalism core rationalistic elect consciousness that makes Americans not only emphasize their particularity or exception, but also stress the universal nature of American ideas and the destiny of American nationalism. The latter discusses how U. S. nationalism works on contemporary U. S. foreign policy on the base of creative perspective. It is believed that U. S. nationalism especially its particularity brings about the combination between realism and idealism, and between isolationism and internationalism. Moreover, U. S. nationalism results in the transition and link between unilateralism and multilateralism. However, whatever American foreign policy thought, principle or manner is, they all serve the aim of American expansion. After analyzing and demonstrating those problems at length, and also drawing the cogent conclusion, we are able to understand more deeply the essential of contemporary U.S. foreign policy. It should be mentioned that it is quite necessary to discuss macroscopically how U.S. foreign policy directed by U.S. nationalism has influenced the evolvement of contemporary world configuration with regard to the feature of U.S. nationalism, especially the U.S. international status or American strategic position in the post-war world configuration and its great impart on contemporary international relations.This paper is composed of 7 parts. The introduction mainly accounts for the research intent, status quo, methods and innovation, and so on. The first chapter summarizes correlative theories of nation and nationalism, for example, the nationalism's concept, characteristic and types and the like. The second chapter primarily analyzes the meanings, character, and exhibition of U.S. nationalism and its formation and evolution and so forth. The third chapter principally analyzes and treats the process and effect on U.S. foreign policy by U.S. nationalism during the cold war. It will be discussed in this part in light of the former three administrations that is Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy-Johnson Administration and latter three administrations that is Nixon, Carter and Reagan Administration basing on the Vietnam War as the division. The fourth chapter treats the process and effect on U.S. foreign policy by U.S. nationalism during the post-Cold War. It will be discussed in this part in terms of the three administrations that is George Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush Administration according to the"9/11"attack as the division. The fifth chapter chiefly discusses the process and effect on the contemporary world configuration by U.S. nationalism during and after the Cold War. In this part this dissertation will construe the relationship between U.S. nationalism and formation, evolvement and expiry of the so-called bipolar world pattern. In addiction, we also analyze the effect of U.S. nationalism on the world configuration after the end of cold war. In the epilogue part, we will draw some conclusions, for instance, how to understand U.S. nationalism, how it has affected U.S. foreign policy and the evolution of contemporary world configuration and so on.