Good Neighbor Policy Definition & Meaning

American

Cultural

Examples

Good Neighbor Policy American

noun

1. a diplomatic policy of the U.S., first presented in 1933 by President Franklin Roosevelt, for the encouragement of friendly relations and mutual defense among the nations of the Western Hemisphere.

Good Neighbor policy Cultural

1. A United States foreign policy doctrine, adopted by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, designed to improve relations with Latin America. A reaction to the exploitative dollar diplomacy of the early 1900s, the Good Neighbor policy encouraged interaction between the United States and Latin America as equals. In the post– World War II era, however, the United States has often reverted to dollar diplomacy and gunboat diplomacy to impose its will on the countries of Latin America.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was replaced in the early 1930s by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor” policy, but its influence lingered.

From The Wall Street Journal

State Department looked to commission a Spanish version of the national anthem, per the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who looked to strengthen political and business partnerships with Latin American countries amid World War II. His cultural efforts aligned with his 1933 Good Neighbor Policy, a Pan-Americanism objective that he implemented at the start of his first term to distance the U.S. from earlier decades of armed intervention.

From Los Angeles Times

“This is not exactly the qualities and characteristics of the good neighbor policy,” the ambassador said, referring to China’s outreach to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

From Washington Times

Anchorage Assembly member Chris Constant said he could not supported the zoning change without the companion ordinance, which would require shelters to have a “good neighbor policy” detailing plans for community communication and minimizing impacts, such as policing of trash and loitering.

From Seattle Times

Truman: Teddy's cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, publicly renounced the Monroe Doctrine and promised a hands-off attitude towards Latin America, which came to be known as the Good Neighbor Policy.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.