The Politics of American Foreign Policy ─ How Ideology Divides Liberals and Conservatives over Foreign Affairs

Flying in the face of the widely held belief that in the US "politics stops at the water's edge," The Politics of American Foreign Policy argues that ideology powerfully divides Americans over international affairs. In this controversial book, Peter Gries directly challenges the view of mainstream political science that ideology does not shape the global views of the American people, and that American are united in support of multilateralism. And he refutes two of the "sacred cows" of public opinion: that the culture wars are overblown, and that a small "Israel lobby" is driving US Middle East policy.

His findings demonstrate that, with the exception of attitudes toward Israel, American liberals consistently feel warmer toward foreign countries and international organizations, and desire friendlier policies toward them, than American conservatives do. But, he argues, not all liberals and conservatives are alike. Cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of American ideology differentially shape attitudes toward different countries, and foreign policy orientations more broadly. While he agrees with the popular wisdom that Americans are not very knowledgeable about the world, he demonstrates how deeply rooted moral values and ideologies enable liberals and conservatives to maintain consistent, if consistently different, international attitudes. These ideological differences, in turn, shape US foreign policy.

Peter Hays Gries is the Harold J. & Ruth Newman Chair & Director, Institute for US-China Issues and Professor in the Department of International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of China's New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy, and coeditor of Chinese Politics and State and Society in 21st-Century China.