In the American study of international relations, idealism usually refers to the school of thought personified in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomatic

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...

 history by Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

, such that it is sometimes referred to as Wilsonianism, or Wilsonian Idealism. Idealism holds that a state should make its internal political philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 the goal of its foreign policy. For example, an idealist might believe that ending poverty at home should be coupled with tackling poverty abroad.