Tolkien and Isolationism

[Galadriel55]

As a bit of a counter example, what of Aragorn refusing to enter the Shire uninvited after his coronation and prohibiting the Big Men from doing so? It is meant as a sign of respect for the Shire's independence, and a gesture of goodwill, in both present relations and an example for future interactions. But by doing so, he facilitates the Shire's isolationism. I suppose the difference is that after his coronation, he has allies in the Shire who would make sure that there are some in that country who would remember to seek out contact with the Big World, and thus interactions will still occur. Without such allies, the gesture would fall flat, as who would even know about it in a place that was so turned inwards that it didn't see the neighbours right across the border?