The Big Stick policy, also known as the Big Stick ideology, Big Stick diplomacy, or Big Stick philosophy, was a foreign policy approach popularized by Theodore Roosevelt during his presidency from 1901 to 1909. The policy was based on the African proverb "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far". The key components of the policy were:

• Possessing serious military capability that would force the adversary to pay close attention.
• Negotiating peacefully but also having strength in case things go wrong.
• Using the unspoken threat of a powerful military to support carefully mediated negotiation.
• Asserting U.S. domination when such dominance was considered the moral imperative.
• Exercising international police power in "flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence".

The policy was comparable to gunboat diplomacy, as used in international politics by the powers, and tied in heavily with the idea of Realpolitik, which implies a pursuit of political power that resembles Machiavellian ideals. Roosevelts "big stick" policy was able to keep the United States out of military conflicts by employing the legitimate threat of force. Nonetheless, the policy was also characterized by speaking softly and being respectful toward all people and scrupulously refraining from wronging them.