Isolationist?The Political Influence Of American Economic Statecraft,1919-1933

For decades,some experts have asserted that the foreign policy of the United States during the interwar period was isolationist,often pointing to America's r efusal to officially and publicly engage in the politics of Europe or the interna tional bodies that formed following WWI,such as the discussion of German re parations or the League of Nations.The goal of this paper is to refute this im age of an isolationist America and put forth the argument that American foreig n policy during the period 1919-1933 was not purely isolationist,but instead u sed tools of economic statecraft to accomplish objectives abroad.Based on Da vid A.Baldwin's definition of economic statecraft and Bear F.Braumoeller's d efinition of isolationism,this study found that the United States remained invol ved in the politics of nearly every region.This took the form of economic stat ecraft and allowed it to influence vital issues of the day,such as reparations a nd European reconstruction,without relying on traditional hard power methods like military alliances.