Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entanglement in military alliances and mutual defense pacts. In its purest form, isolationism opposes all commitments to foreign countries including treaties and trade agreements.[1] In the political science lexicon, there is also the term of “non-interventionism”, which is sometimes improperly used to replace the concept of “isolationism”.[2] “Non-interventionism” is commonly understood as “a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries’ internal affairs”.[3] “Isolationism” should be interpreted more broadly as “a foreign policy grand strategy of military and political non-interference in international affairs and in the internal affairs of sovereign states, associated with trade and economic protectionism and cultural and religious isolation, as well as with the inability to be in permanent military alliances, with the preservation, however, some opportunities to participate in temporary military alliances that meet the current interests of the state and in permanent international organizations of a non-military nature”.[4]
This contrasts with philosophies such as colonialism, expansionism, and liberal internationalism.