The United States once pursued a 'big stick policy' to interfere in Latin American affairs.
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history
大棒 entered Chinese from Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy slogan: 「说话要温和,手里要拿大棒。」 (Speak softly and carry a big stick.) The phrase 胡萝卜加大棒 (carrot and big stick) is now a common Chinese idiom for coercive incentives.