Wilsonianism

For some, it is 'inspiring liberal internationalism' based on adherence to self-determination; for others, Wilsonianism is the exemplar of humanitarian intervention around the world,' making U.S. foreign policy a paragon of carefully defined and restricted use of force.

[12] According to University of Chicago political theorist Adom Getachew, Wilson's version of self-determination was a reassociation of an idea that others had previously imbued with different meanings.

[19] He declared in a subsequent speech to the United States Congress on February 8, 1918, that in the post-war peace settlement "national aspirations must be respected" and people could only be governed "by their own consent".

[16] Sarah Claire Dunstan's work also indicates that Wilson's rhetoric had an impact on marginalized groups within the United States, such as African Americans.

[16] Historian David Kennedy argues that American foreign relations since 1914 have rested on Wilsonian idealism, even if adjusted somewhat by the realism represented by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Kissinger.

Diplomatic historian Walter Russell Mead said:"Wilson's principles survived the eclipse of the Versailles system and they still guide European politics today: self-determination, democratic government, collective security, international law, and a league of nations.

France, Germany, Italy, and Britain may have sneered at Wilson, but every one of these powers today conducts its European policy along Wilsonian lines.