Richard Haass: Guarding Democracy by Teaching Civics
From Higher Ed Now by American Council of Trustees a
June 24, 2025 · 39 min
About this episode
Michael Poliakoff interviews Richard Haass about the importance of teaching civics to guard democracy.
ACTA president Michael Poliakoff speaks with Richard Haass, distinguished diplomat and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Haass has served four U.S. Presidents over 25 years, including two years leading the Irish peace process as the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. He is the author or editor of fourteen books on American foreign policy, one book on management, and one on American democracy. His most recent book, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, was published by Penguin Press in January 2023 and became a New York Times bestseller. Dr. Haass serves on ACTA's National Commission on American History and Civic Education, where he will work alongside dozens of distinguished historians, political scientists, and education leaders to help remedy the long-standing failure of American colleges and universities to require a foundational course in U.S. history and government. For more of Dr. Haass's work, read his analyses on his substack Home And Away.
People in this episode
Host: Michael Poliakoff
Guest: Richard Haass
Topics covered
- civics education
- democracy
- American history
- foreign policy
- citizenship
Keywords
- civics
- democracy
- education
- American history
- citizenship
- foreign policy
- Richard Haass
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Council on Foreign Relations, ACTA, Penguin Press, National Commission on American History and Civic Education
Books & works: The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens
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