Isolationism

Isolationism is a political philosophy that promotes a low level of involvement from foreign affairs. This can mean not engaging in other states wars, to not wanting to be a part of international institutions. Due to the nature of the question we have surrounding the ties between democracy and an aggressive foreign policy, I thought it would be interesting to dive into isolationism and how that has existed in the past and now. 

When considering authoritarianism and isolation my first thought surrounded the secrecy of authorian states. Often they have very low levels of transparency, both to their citizens and the global community. This level of secrecy seems that it would go hand in hand with elements of isolationism. However, this is not the case. Aspects of the belief do not necessarily correlate with a low level of global involvement. Isolationism promotes a neutrality in global affairs, which is extremely difficult to uphold in a globalist world.  

Nazi Germany had a few notes of what may appear to be isolationist ideology. The wanting for self sufficiency and levels of secrecy. However they also built up military, and invaded Poland.  So not isolationist at all.

Another interesting example is the US. The time of US isolationism is often marked by the waves of the US playing global policeman, and then going back to (kind of) isolationist. Trump is seen as an isolationist president, criticising NATO and general international institutions, and insulting the ICC. However from Bush- Obama, they were very much in the era of global Policeman. This flip flopping is argued to have happened many times throughout the 20th Century. 

You can't talk about isolationism without talking about North Korea. Arguably the most isolationist, hermit country of the world. Its citizens are very cut off from the rest of the globe. However, it has diplomatic relations with 160 states. It is also important to note that they are a part of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which is a group of 120 countries that claim to not align with any major power bloc. 

Overall Isolationism is a very difficult ideology to hold in a very interconnected world. It has popped up and gone again in history, but is an interesting thing to consider. Some aspects seem contradictory and it is difficult to pin down. Overall I don't have a large statement to say about it, rather just an interesting ideology to look into that has some connections to authorianism and relates to our overall research question. 

Also- I wanted to add a note about the hot pink party and their shenanigans. 

The PURE party has always existed for the context of learning. The members are here to advise Xavier on our learning and student feedback, and planning ways to better execute our learning. So not too sure what the difference is with your so called 'advisory group.' :) 

Sources 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/isolationism-foreign-policy 

https://www.cfr.org/excerpt-isolationism

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/18/1232263785/generations-after-its-heyday-isolationism-is-alive-and-kicking-up-controversy

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/north-koreas-unparalleled-self-isolation-must-cease-un-expert