In March 1992, shortly after the end of the Cold War, the New York Times reported on a secret plan that had been drafted in the Pentagon under the leadership of the Undersecretary of Defence, Paul D. Wolfowitz. The West had won the Cold War. A new era had begun, in which the United States was the only remaining superpower. This offered unprecedented opportunities to shape the world in accordance with American ideas. Wolfowitz wanted a strategy of selective involvement with the rest of the world. This meant that the United States would only intervene in parts of the world where American interests were being undermined. This strategy of selective involvement steered a middle path between remaining aloof from international politics so long as the United States was not threatened, and playing the policeman that had to intervene anywhere in the world if American interests were at risk or Western values being harmed.

According to leaked parts of the secret plan, the Defense Planning Guidance of 1991, Wolfowitz's course was focused on preventing potential new rivals from joining the United States on the world stage: ‘Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival.’ A strong opponent would curb American freedom to act in international politics. This would sharply limit the possibilities for protecting American global interests and promoting American values. The potential future challengers of American supremacy were a Russia that had risen from the ashes of the Soviet Union, a united Europe and a rapidly growing China. The Undersecretary of Defence's plan thus outlined a potential shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world: a world in which the United States was no longer the incontestable superpower, but a world with several centres of power. The fear of those who drafted the document was that there would be more competition in a multipolar world, which would put American interests at stake.

The Americans saw themselves not only as the key international player, but also as a beacon for international, and thus Western – or rather, American – values. Power and values were determining factors in the global order and thus for global peace.