How to Build an American Foreign Policy, With Michael Mandelbaum

About this episode

This episode explores the foundational pillars of U.S. foreign policy and their implications in contemporary politics.

This episode unpacks three enduring pillars that have defined U.S. foreign policy from the nation’s founding to today: ideology, economic statecraft, and democratic accountability. Host: James M. Lindsay, Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR Guest: Michael Mandelbaum, Professor Emeritus of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Author, The American Way of Foreign Policy: Ideology, Economics, Democracy We Discuss: Whether the United States can be said to have a coherent foreign policy "personality". How geographic and geopolitical advantages have historically enabled a more ideological U.S. foreign policy than most countries can afford. Whether ideology in U.S. foreign policy represents genuine conviction or merely a veneer for self-interest. What the post-Cold War era reveals as the "golden age of foreign policy of ideas”. What drives the persistent American tendency toward economic statecraft, sanctions, and “mirror imaging”. How public opinion, interest groups, political parties, and elections influence foreign policy decisionmaking. Whether President Trump's foreign policy fits within—or…

People in this episode

Host: James M. Lindsay

Guest: Michael Mandelbaum

Topics covered

• U.S. foreign policy
• ideology
• economic statecraft
• democratic accountability
• geopolitical advantages
• public opinion influence
• Trump's foreign policy

Keywords

• foreign policy
• ideology
• economic statecraft
• democracy
• public opinion
• Trump
• geopolitical advantages

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The American Way of Foreign Policy: Ideology, Economics, Democracy

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