When we diasporan Armenians, or specifically descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors, hear Donald Trump say, “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?…No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay,” to European nations that face Russian aggression, or, “They’re immensely wealthy…I don’t think we’re any different from an insurance policy. Why? Why are we doing this?” in reference to the Taiwanese, whose island-nation is in continuous danger, while citing Taiwan’s geographical distance of 9,500 miles from the shores of the United States, the first thing that comes to our consciousness is the isolationist policies of the U.S. administration that let Armenia down in the 1920s.
Were things similar before isolationism? Absolutely not!
It was President Woodrow Wilson who in his 14 points outlined the principles of liberal internationalism based on the sacred right of oppressed nations to gain independence through the holistic concept of self-determination. Above all, his 12th point underlined the momentousness of the tremble of the age of imperialism. Taking into account the genocidal policies of the Ottoman Empire against its indigenous Armenian, Greek and Assyrian populations, he granted them the “absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development.” Likewise, Wilson’s 14th point emphasized the great notion that small nations — such as that of the Armenians — should have the right to form nation-states and participate in international bodies.
Liberal internationalism back then wasn’t just an ideal but an inspiration for smaller nations to gain the support of larger democracies. It was an aspiration to build nationhood based on the fundamentals of liberty, justice and solidarity. Wilson for many oppressed nations wasn’t a cult of personality but a beacon of hope.
“Self-determination is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle of action, which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril,” Wilson said. His words echoed in the hearts and minds of nations who craved statehood under the shadow of imperialism. For Armenians, Wilson was a reliable friend who was principled in his humanistic values and aware of the Genocide that was going on under the hands of Ottoman authorities.
President Warren Harding and his partisan isolationism in both the presidency and Congress allowed smaller nations that had recently gained independence to fall under the Soviet Union’s hammer and Turkish anvil. It was the same isolationist Senate that refused U.S. participation in the League of Nations, hence refusing a mandate that could save democracy and defenseless, small nations worldwide from the mercy of authoritarian, aggressive regimes. The roots of isolationism vary from ultra-nationalism to populism, but its intention is summed up in one colloquial phrase: “I just don’t care what happens outside of my backyard.”
The Biden administration’s “Summit for Democracy” in 2021, in which Armenia participated alongside other liberal democracies, was in part a renewal of Wilson’s doctrine of empowering liberal democracy through diplomacy, making it one of the pillars of American soft diplomacy. Armenia, as a nation that has newly (re)gained independence, desperately needs the support of the U.S. and other democratic forces to strengthen its institutions and develop its democratic cornerstones. Moreover, Armenia needs financial resources, such as through the USAID, to assist refugees from Artsakh forcefully deported by Azerbaijani military aggression, to advance women’s rights and climate action and to support non-governmental organizations.
Unfortunately, today’s scenario is similar to the 1920 presidential election in the United States. Today, there’s a contest between internationalism and isolationism, but instead of Harding and James Cox, we have Trump and Kamala Harris. Trump and MAGA Republicans’ ‘2025 project’ promises to cut USAID. It vows to undo the progress that the Biden administration made in addressing the status of democracy, the index of gender equality and the emergency of climate change globally.
Any setback of American obligations to the international community is a loss for liberal democracy. Any appeasement of authoritarian regimes leaves emerging democracies behind.
The democratic world must refuse Harding’s order in order to move towards a brighter future and avoid the pitfalls of the past. Empowering Cox’s vision, which is embodied in Harris, aligns with the interests of the human race. Fostering a world built on mutual assistance, collaboration and harmony is essential for our collective success.
Natan Bedrossian
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A succinct point was the isolationism of Congress which forbade the USA to join the league of nations which Woodrow Wilson had been instrumental in establishing and the embarrassment to him that he was unable get the USA to join something which he had helped to found with the intention of the USA participating. This tragedy of the league being curtailed in its scope then allowed the Bolsheviks in collusion with the Turkish Kemalists to truncate and subjugate independent Armenia causing another spate of killing and refugees and the reduced boundaries which it didn’t demarcate and now sanctified by international protocols that truncated post Soviet Armenia has to accept as binding.