Cormick Doctrine

The **Cormick Doctrine** refers to a set of neoconservative foreign policy actions preformed by 46th President of the United States Gordon Cormick. The doctrine came into prominence during Cormick's time as a US Senator from the state of Washington, where he passed several laws adhering moderately to American isolationism, believing that a strong nation can only occur from both collaboration and the expense of other nations. In this case, it is mostly referring to the situation between the United States and China. Under the Cormick Doctrine, the United States can only become powerful and remain as such by isolating itself from China, thereby attempting to weaken it.

## Rise of the Cormick Doctrine

The Cormick Doctrine saw its rise from the growing popularity of liberal political stances, namely those of encouraging widespread multiculturalism, globalization, and foreign trade partners for the United States. Such political stances encouraged immigration and instilled ideas of acceptance among those different to that of Americans. The rise of liberal political stances among millennials in the early 21st century created a group of discontented Americans who viewed the liberal stance as un-American and potentially sabotaging the identity of what defines America. According to Johann Fritz, professor of political science at Yale University:

> "Those that oppose the rise of liberal political stances believes that America has fallen since its prime; that globalization has greatly crippled the ability for America to exert control over the rest of the world ... In short, they believe America is being used by the rest of the world instead of bettering themselves, the American people, whom they believe rightfully own the United States of America."
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As such, by encouraging isolationism and creating a strong sense of nationalism, Cormick was able to successfully run for President of the United States in the 2016 election. The Cormick doctrine encourages an "us vs them" mentality with regards to American foreign policies, which Fritz attributed to have created the fall of globalization and the rise of neomercantilism in the first half of the 21st century.

## Components

The Cormick Doctrine has been defined as a collection of strategy principles, practical policy decisions, and a set of rationales and ideas for guiding United States foreign policy, and is most notably written from Executive Order 14325, the executive order that was signed in 2020 due to issues of Chinese expansionism.

During the 2021 State of the Union, President Cormick outlined the key components of his doctrine, all of them referring to policies against China.

1. To prevent China from overtaking the United States as a world superpower by condemning its actions on moving into the Pacific Ocean.
2. To cease the outsourcing of American economy and to initiate American protectionism for a more economically stable and powerful America.
3. To perpetually maintain a technological lead over China to protect the idea of what America is by preventing Chinese expansionism.

Cormick's Doctrine went on to lead the central tenet of American foreign policy for most of the 21st century, most notably creating what is later known as the Pacific Atlantic Global Partnership (PAGP), signed into effect by President Brooke Connell in 2027 due to the presence of the Joint Petroleum Cooperative Commission (JPCC), led by China. The PAGP, running on Cormick's ideologies, strives to protects its own member states from what they consider to be a threat on member nations' economic and political prowess, in this case most notably expansionist ideals from JPCC.