Should America be the world's cop? What the experts say

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Dennis Jett, Penn State and Abram Van Engen, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

(THE CONVERSATION) Editor’s note: As part of our collaboration with “Third Rail with OZY,” we asked scholars from a variety of disciplines to answer the question: “Should America be the world’s cop?”

A rationale for intervention

Abram Van Engen, Washington University in St. Louis

Many American presidents have claimed that the United States has a distinct responsibility to fight for freedom across the world.

In 2005, President George W. Bush declared, “It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.”

In 2014, after affirming his belief in American exceptionalism, President Barack Obama claimed that America stands “for the more lasting peace that can only come through opportunity and freedom for people everywhere.” For him, “American leadership” entails “our willingness to act on behalf of human dignity.”

Rising out of the...