Is There a Millennial Generation Foreign Policy, and is it Progressive?
How will the attitudes and values of the Millennial Generation shape American foreign policy in the coming decades?
The Millennial generation (typically defined as individuals born between 1981 and 1997), includes roughly 87 million Americans and constitutes the largest generation in the history of the United States. Millennials are currently between 19 and 35 years old, meaning all will theoretically be able to vote in the 2016 election.
Millennials grew up with the Internet, in an interconnected and globalized world, and tend to have different perspectives on foreign policy than their parents and grandparents. According to research from the Cato Institute, Millennials view the world as less threatening than previous generations. Millennials are also more likely to support cooperation and less likely to support military intervention when it comes to international relations. A Pew study conducted in 2011 found that two-thirds of Millennials, and only 41 percent of Americans over 65, agreed that relying on the use of military force creates hatred that leads to more terrorism.
Given these generational leanings and the formative experiences of many Millennials (specifically 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), how might this new generation reshape our national security and foreign policies?