How does Ideology Drive U.S. Foreign Relations?

History Talk, the history podcast from Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

The United States was a nation forged in the ideological fires of a democratic revolution to overturn monarchy and imperial control. Yet many American leaders and citizens ever since have denied or rejected a foreign policy guided by ideology. Why? If ideas and ideologies help us to order and explain the world, often serving as rationales for (in)action as well as explanations for success or failure, how does the history of U.S. foreign relations appear differently when viewed through the lens of ideology? In short, how has and does ideology drive U.S foreign relations? Panelists: Christopher McKnight Nichols, Professor of History and Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies at The Ohio State University. An Andrew Carnegie Fellowship Award winner and Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, Nichols is a frequent public commentator on U.S. politics and foreign policy. Nichols is the author or editor of six books, including most recently Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories (2022). Nicholas Breyfogle (Moderator), Associate Professor of History and Director, Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching, The Ohio State University. An in-text version of this podcast episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/listen/history-talk/how-does-ideology-drive-us-foreign-relations