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 represents a departure from—the three enduring American traditions in U.S. foreign policy.

Mentioned on the Episode:

The American Way of Foreign Policy: Ideology, Economics, Democracy by Michael Mandelbaum (Oxford University Press, 2025)

Embargo Act of 1807

George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address, January 20, 2005

Vice President JD Vance, Remarks at the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Remarks at the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2026

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/how-to-build-an-american-foreign-policy

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.