America’s economic success in the 1990s was linked to its dominance in a world economy that was undergoing tremendous transformations in a process called globalization—the growing integration and interdependence of national citizens and economies. President Clinton lowered a number of trade barriers, despite critics who emphasized the economic deprivation and environmental devastation that often resulted. Debates likewise arose over the large numbers of immigrants entering the United States.

Clinton agreed with Bush that the United States must retain its supreme position in the world. He took military action in Somalia, Haiti, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, and he pushed hard to ease the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Clinton also strove to safeguard American interests from terrorist attacks around the world, a challenge in some ways more difficult than combating communism.